CBB Governor patronises TradeQuest Awards ceremony

Manama, Apr. 19 (BNA): Under the patronage of Rasheed Al Maraj, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the final TradeQuest Awards Ceremony was held on 18th of April 2015 where 80 students took part in the simulated stock trading program "TradeQuest Challenge". The ceremony was organised by Bahrain Bourse (BHB) to honour 80 students and was attended by students and their families, senior representatives from sponsoring organizations and other invited guests. At the beginning of the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Bourse, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa thanked Rasheed Al Maraj, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain for his patronage and attendance to the ceremony, and for his continuous support to TradeQuest program since 2004. Shaikh Khalifa clarified, "The TradeQuest program targets high school students, and we believe that the program gives them the opportunity to implement the theoretical knowledge they learn about the stock markets and widens up their understanding of the financial services sector in Bahrain. This program also focuses on very important skills that students can from now develop for their future, such as presentation, analytical, and teamwork skills." Shaikh Khalifa praised the support of the organizations sponsoring the program, and their commitment to the program throughout these years, and appreciated the support and encouragement students get from their families and school advisors throughout the program. Rasheed Al Maraj, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain presented Bahrain Bourse Trophy and first place overall winner award to Abdulrahman Kanoo International School. Al Naseem International School was the second place winner, followed by Bahrain School that came in third place. During the ceremony, Shaikh Abdulaziz Secondary Boys School was awarded the certificate for "Best Financial Performance" and "Highest Return" at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Al Noor International School was awarded the certificates for the "Lowest Volatility" at NYSE and "Lowest Volatility" at Bahrain Bourse. Al Naseem International School received the certificate for the "Best Financial Performance" at Bahrain Bourse, and Ibn Khuldoon national School achieved the "Highest Return" certificate at Bahrain Bourse. TradeQuest is a simulated business-education partnership program that focuses on investment trading in world financial markets, which operated for the first time in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1996 in cooperation with financial institutions and educational parties. The program is geared to give high school students close-to-life experience in the stock markets, with focus on understanding the rules and regulations implemented in those stock markets, the analysis and selection of stocks, and portfolio management for equities listed on NYSE and BHB. The TradeQuest 2014/2015 program includes 10 school teams, and they are Abdulrahman Kanoo International School, Bahrain School, Al Hidd Secondary Girls School, Ibn Khuldoon National School, Naseem International School, Al Noor International School, Omaima bint Al No’aman Secondary Girls School, Sh. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Secondary Boys School, St. Christopher's School and Al Wisam International School. Several financial and banking institutions in Bahrain are sponsoring TradeQuest and taking part in the program by conducting lectures and workshops that are conducted during the program, and they are: Gulf International Bank (GIB), Securities and Investment Company (SICO), Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, J.P. Morgan Bank, BBK, CFA Bahrain, United Gulf Bank, Citibank and Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF).