Benefits of corporate governance in focus

More than 70 senior executives of state owned/public sector enterprise as well as professionals from Bahrain's financial industry took part in Solidarity's first Corporate Governance seminar, which was held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The one-day event, which was organised by Solidarity General Takaful and the Chubb Group, highlighted the economic benefits of corporate governance, with industry experts stating that companies that are well governed have better access to global equity portfolio and generally outperform their peers.

The keynote address was given by CBB executive director, financial institutions supervision, Abdul Rahman Al Baker, who addressed the importance of corporate governance to the Kingdom's economy.

"Bahrain has always taken the lead in terms of corporate governance and the CBB has made corporate governance a major component of our regulatory framework for financial institutions, banks and insurance companies. Over the last few years we have increased our focus on promoting good governance policies, and have started to work closely with the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance in the UAE to support corporate governance reform in the region."

Asian Corporate Governance Association, secretary general Jamie Allen explained, "Good corporate governance policies are essential to sustaining the growth of Bahrain's economy. Countries that have an established policy for corporate governance within their regulatory framework tend to have strong, liquid, capital markets, and financial institutions, operating in a well regulated environment, have improved access to both domestic and international capital."