Senior officials from Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) have held a series of high level meetings with senior officials from some of Bahrain’s major institutions yesterday. The meetings assessed current corporate governance practices in Bahrain. Led by Dr Nasser Saidi, Executive Director of Hawkamah, a subsidiary of Dubai International Financial Centre, and Keith Savard, Director, Global Economic Analysis, Institute of International Finance, the team members met with officials from the Bahrain Monetary Authority, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Economic Development Board.
This visit to Bahrain follows similar meetings held in Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait earlier this month. The assessment meetings are a key component of the recently launched, first-ever corporate governance survey of the GCC countries by Hawkamah and IIF. The survey aims to encourage reform and improve corporate governance in the MENA region. It intends to offer practical guidelines for securities regulators, stock exchange authorities, boards of directors and companies’ management to advance corporate governance in the region.
Dr Saidi said: “The MENA region is in the throes of diversification and modernization. Corporate sector reforms and implementation of international best practices will help spur economic growth, enhance transparency and disclosure and build sound financial markets and investor confidence. Hawkamah and the Institute of International Finance are working together to create a benchmark of corporate governance in the GCC countries. Bahrain is one of the older and mature markets in the region and we are here to assess it regulatory regime and help build on it.”
About the DIFC: The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services.
In just over one year, more than a hundred top international institutions have joined the DIFC as members. They operate in an open environment complemented with world-class regulations and standards. The DIFC offers its member institutions incentives such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero tax on income and profits and no restrictions on foreign exchange. In addition their business benefits from modern infrastructure, operational support and business continuity facilities of uncompromisingly high standards.
The DIFC is made up of the following core bodies:
1. The DIFC Authority (DIFCA) - Responsible for the Companies and Security Registries and attracting financial as well as non-financial institutions to set up in the DIFC. The DIFC Authority is also responsible for developing the financial services industry. (www.difc.ae)
2. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) - An independent, unitary regulatory authority, responsible for the regulation of all DIFC operations. Its principle-based primary legislation is modeled on that used in London and New York, and its regulatory regime operates to standards that meet or exceed those in major financial centres. (www.dfsa.ae)
3. The DIFC Courts - An independent court system set up to uphold the provisions of DIFC laws and regulations, the courts provide comprehensive legal redress in civil and commercial matters within the DIFC. The DIFC Courts system is especially designed to deal with all of sophisticated transactions that will be conducted within DIFC. The DIFC Court laws, based on the common law, not only sets out the jurisdiction of the court but also provides for a dispute resolution services, including arbitration and mediation, thus allowing for the independent administration of justice in the DIFC. ( www.difccourts.ae )
4. DIFC Investments- The creation of DIFC Investments will result in the allocation to it of all non public administration activities previously carried out by DIFC Authority. This will include amongst other things all commercial and other activities such as the operation and management of any current and future subsidiaries, the development of the centre’s investment strategy and relevant policies and any other strategic investments or alliances which will further the goals and objectives of the Dubai International Financial Centre and contribute to the fulfillment of the Centre’s vision. Some of the companies and organizations that DIFC Investments owns include:
1. The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) The DIFX is the region’s first international financial exchange for equities, bonds, Islamic products, funds, index products and (subject to regulatory approval) derivatives. The target areas of the DIFX for seeking issuers include the Middle East and North Africa, as well as South Africa, Turkey and the Indian sub-continent. The regulator of the DIFX is the Dubai Financial Services Authority. The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its owner is the DIFC Authority. (www.difx.ae)
2. Hawkama- the first Institute for Corporate Governance in the region is being set up by a group of international institutions, including the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry, Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), Dubai School of Government (DSG), Young Arab Leaders (YAL), and the Institute of Management Development (IMD). (www.hawkamah.org)
