rasheed mohammed al maraj : toward a more integrated arab insurance market address by his excellency rasheed mohammed al maraj, governor of the central bank of bahrain, at the general arab insurance federation general conference 2008, manama, 26 february 2008. * * * your highness sheikh khalifa bin salman al khalifa, the prime minister, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen i am pleased to welcome your highness to the opening session of the 27th general arab insurance federation conference. i am also honored to express my most sincere thanks and appreciation to your highness for the kind patronage of this important event. the care and attention which your highness granted to the financial sector in the kingdom of bahrain, has always reflected the pioneering role and relentless efforts exerted by your highness in the further development of this vital sector, as one of the key segments of the national economy. please accept our heartily thanks for the blessed efforts of your highness, as we have always opted for your guidance and support to further develop the financial sector in the kingdom of bahrain. i also welcome the participants and guests wishing them a pleasant stay in bahrain, and success in their endeavors. it goes without doubt that the presence of this large number of distinguished arab and foreign insurance companies shall give this conference a new positive dimension, and constitutes a qualitative leap in exploring the best methods to develop the arab insurance businesses, in order to cope with the immense developments observed by arab economies. i also wish to extend my thanks and appreciation to the organizers for their excellent preparations of this vitally important conference, which is truly one of the significant regional and international activities in which over 1000 leading elite participants are taking part. ladies and gentlemen, today ’ s conference is being held under the title “ toward a more integrated arab insurance market ”. the agenda reflects topics important to all industry players and the cbb. the development of the insurance industry in bahrain has continued its growth in line with the cbb ’ s strategic objectives. the financial services sector in bahrain accounts for 27 % of the country ’ s gdp. following the assumption of the supervisory and regulatory responsibilities for the insurance sector in august 2002, the central bank of bahrain viewed this as an opportunity to undertake several initiatives, aimed a creating a qualitative regulatory framework for the further development of the insurance sector. the cbb issued directives and regulations in line with international standards as promulgated by the international association of insurance supervisors ( iais ) while at the same time keeping in mind recognized international insurance

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