is becoming more restricted, and that investment projects are being delayed or scaled back. nonetheless, compared with many other regions of the world, the gcc countries remain in a strong position to withstand the current crisis. they now form a $ 1 trillion economy. in the first five years of this decade an economy the size of sweden was added to the gcc in terms of aggregate output. the gcc is a net capital exporter, its governments have surplus fiscal positions, and the gcc countries collectively are one of the world ’ s largest holders of foreign exchange reserves. although oil prices have recently declined sharply from their highs in july of this year, when the price peaked at 147 dollars per barrel, the economic outlook for the gcc remains sound. a range of economic forecasts, including from the imf, suggest that the gcc can expect economic growth in excess of five percent next year. this will be lower than the 6. 5 percent projected for 2008, but would, nonetheless, represent a solid performance when set against the background of current global economic conditions. at the central bank of bahrain we have been monitoring domestic and international developments very closely. however, our domestic financial markets have continued to function normally despite the enormous stresses of recent months resulting from international events. it is true that domestic liquidity conditions have become tighter, but this has been mainly due to outflows of capital linked to earlier speculation on the revaluation of gcc currencies. our financial system has shown its resilience by absorbing both large capital inflows and outflows over the past year. in recognition of tighter domestic liquidity conditions the central bank has taken a number of measures to provide additional liquidity to the market. however, we have not seen the need to take exceptional measures to support our banks, which remain liquid and well capitalized. we will, of course, continue to keep the situation under review and will take appropriate monetary policy and liquidity measures to continue to protect the stability of the markets here in bahrain. ensuring macro - economic stability is, of course, vital for the development of the fund management industry. the measures that the central bank has taken to ensure financial stability within bahrain will continue to provide the conditions within which a vibrant and growing fund management industry needs for its further development. the second component that the fund management industry needs for its development is a sound regulatory framework. let me devote some remarks to this subject, as it is an area to which the central bank has

rasheed mohammed al maraj : the corporate governance code of the kingdom of bahrain – fundamentals and implementation address by his excellency rasheed mohammed al maraj, governor of the central bank of bahrain, at an event, organized by the international chamber of commerce, manama, 4 may 2009. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. as patron of this event, the central bank is proud to take part in today ’ s proceedings. my thanks go out to the organisers of this event, the international chamber of commerce, and also to the many sponsors who have made this event possible. today ’ s conference focuses on the features of good corporate governance and on developments relating to the proposed new corporate governance code for all companies in the kingdom of bahrain. this initiative by the ministry of industry and commerce is welcomed by the central bank and we will be working with the financial sector and listed companies on the implementation of the spirit and the letter of the new code upon its publication. in my opening comments, i will highlight what the cbb considers to be the key attributes of good corporate governance, and how we have encouraged licensees of the cbb and listed companies to implement a sound corporate governance environment. effective corporate governance begins with establishing a clear dynamic between three different bodies of persons : the shareholders ; the board ; and the management. in a perfect world, these three bodies would all recognise their interdependence and their responsibilities and act promptly, rationally and transparently in the best interests of the concerned company. however, events globally over the past decade indicate that we do not live in a perfect world, and so rules from regulators, company law and codes of practice are necessary to ensure that one set of stakeholders do not act in their own self - interest to the detriment of other stakeholders, or indeed to the detriment of the economy itself in the case of the largest companies. the central bank of bahrain has recognised that the conduct and health of the financial sector in particular has a far wider impact than just on shareholders ’ wealth. the health of the financial sector affects the reputation of the country, the functioning of the payments system and provides valuable employment in the domestic economy. therefore the cbb has implemented several far - reaching initiatives on corporate governance standards over the past five years or so to complement the requirements of the commercial companies law. these standards include : the disclosure standards for listed companies which were issued in december 2003 ; the guidelines for insiders, issued october 2004