March 2009 The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) has employed the consultancy services of the SHAPE™ Financial Corp. SHAPE is a leading specialist in the formation of solutions for Islamic finance markets and will assist the BFX in the development of Sharia compliant Islamic finance products for listing on the Exchange.

Listing and trading in innovative Islamic products will be a key aspect of the BFX. Working with SHAPE will enable the Exchange to establish its product line in this area and benefit from the strong relationships SHAPE has in the Islamic finance industry.

The initial work will be conducted across Islamic capital markets, Sukuks, REITs, ETFs and Murabaha sectors.&

Commenting on the announcement of SHAPE, Arshad Khan, Director, BFX said, 'we are delighted to have the services of a leading Islamic finance consultancy working with the BFX. It is our aim to bring innovations in Islamic finance products that can be listed and successfully traded on our Exchange. The Sharia compliant Islamic finance industry is a market worth approximately US$700-800bn and by listing the right products on the BFX we are confident about tapping into this growth market with significant potential.'

Abdulkader Thomas, President and CEO of SHAPE said, 'this is a fantastic opportunity to help develop much needed solutions for the Islamic finance markets to facilitate their development and growth. The BFX's aim to become a pioneer in this sector combined with SHAPE's expertise will add great value and impetuous to these important markets.'&

&- Ends - Editor's Notes: The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) will begin trading in Q1, 2010;

The BFX& is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to trade multi assets including equities, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives and Sharia compliant Islamic financial instruments;

It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Financial Technologies Group;

The Exchange has an international standard in-house training academy;

Website: www.bfx.bh

SHAPE website www.shapefinancial.com About BFX The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) is the first multi asset, multi access international exchange in Bahrain and the Middle East. Launching in Q1, 2010 the Exchange will provide a platform where market participants can raise capital and manage risk using conventional and Islamic financial instruments on one liquid market.

&It is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to trade multi assets including equities, bonds, commodities, currencies, derivatives and Sharia compliant Islamic financial instruments.

About SHAPE &SHAPE is a world leading knowledge company serving the global financial services community. They offer targeted expertise and help implement best practices in financial institutions. SHAPE's specialty focuses on the area of Islamic finance and developing acceptable solutions within the existing financial services framework.

SHAPE designs and structures Islamic financial solutions for capital markets and banking sectors.

© Press Release 2009 omar 1.1:zy