MANAMA, Bahrain, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The government of Bahrain Thursday reopened the stock exchange, several banks and the central bank, a sign that normalcy is returning to the island kingdom's financial markets.
Despite Manama's financial center being blocked by police, the stock market resumed trading at its emergency location.
The stock exchange closed Wednesday after Bahrain declared a three-month national safety period. A spokesman for the exchange said it could reopen at its Financial Harbor headquarters on Sunday.
Some banks and financial services also reopened specific branches yesterday. They were closed after intense demonstrations by opposition forces earlier in the week.
Standard Chartered, the English bank with 500 employees in Bahrain, reopened two of its seven branches in the Kingdom yesterday and intend to open the rest soon, Bloomberg News reported. One of HSBC's four branches also was opened to customers yesterday.
Bahrain's central bank also resumed operations. Local banks use the central bank to provide basic banking services such as check clearing and bank transfers.
The central bank announced that it is prepared to cooperate with all the banks in Bahrain to assure continued operation, as it meets the needs of customers and institutions.
Bahrain TV
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