03 October 2011

Corporate Governance Actions Will Highlight Upcoming Hawkamah-OECD Annual Conference

6th Annual Regional Conference will be held in Dubai on 31 October to 1 November, 2011

Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development announced today that the 6th regional corporate governance annual conference that will be held on October 31 - November 1, 2011 in Dubai, UAE.

Under the theme: “Words to Action:  The Regional Corporate Governance Challenge”, the conference will discuss the next steps for governance reform in the region.  Hawkamah and OECD studies have indicated that there have been significant governance improvements in the past years, with a number of corporate governance codes having been introduced by various capital market regulators and central bank authorities. The ongoing issue for corporate governance in the region is implementation, not only from the regulators’ perspective but also from the private sector’s.

The UAE Minister of Economy H.E. Eng. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori who will be delivering the keynote address, commented: “Corporate governance is becoming highly recognized across the world especially after the financial crisis as it plays a significant role in the growth and sustainability of the economy.  Today we highly require effective corporate governance systems to enhance the quality of operations and management, adding a layer of checks and balances and strategic thinking.  I hope this strategic event will deliver its message to the business community in the UAE to prioritize corporate governance and I would like to praise Hawkamah’s efforts in launching Corporate Governance initiatives in the UAE and in the region.”

Dr. Nasser Saidi, Executive Director of ‘Hawkamah’ announcing the conference, said: “Hawkamah’s annual conference is widely regarded as preeminent international and regional gathering that takes stock of the recent governance developments and sets the priorities for home-grown future reform. The ultimate aim of the Annual Conference is to engage policy makers, practitioners, investors and corporates to share ideas and best practices and debate the best way forward for corporate governance in the region.”

“Corporate governance forms the bedrock of a nation’s economy, and contributes to attracting investments that boost the business competitiveness of a nation. We realised its importance early on, and incorporated it as a key element of our corporate strategy from the very beginning. We are proud to support this event as the Diamond Sponsor and Exclusive Telecom Partner. Our participation underscores our commitment to promote corporate governance within the UAE and across the region, in order to promote best practices. We are confident that the conference, now in its sixth year, will further enhance governance development on a local and regional scale, and we wish the organisers the very best,” commented Mahmood Ahmad, Vice President, Board Relations, Corporate Governance and Compliance at du.

Varoujan Nerguizian, Bank of Sharjah’s General Manager also commented: “Bank of Sharjah is very pleased to be sponsoring the 6th Annual Hawkamah conference.” Adding: “We fully believe in the development of better Corporate Governance and its value in building sustainable business practice.  Corporate Governance may be a relatively new term in the region but the core concepts have been instilled in businesses across the region – just like Bank of Sharjah for many years.  Bank of Sharjah has always had tight governance practices and strong core values.  Therefore I feel it is of great importance for Bank of Sharjah to be involved in such an event which gives Regional Corporate Governance practices a platform.”

Hawkamah-OECD’s 6th annual conference will explore how implementation of good corporate governance practices can be supported. The conference will feature forward looking panel discussions to explore themes such as director and regulatory capacity; governance of risk; investors and their stewardship responsibilities; challenges faced by state-owned enterprises, family-owned enterprises, and sovereign wealth funds; sustainability reporting; Islamic finance; development of the regional capital markets; and corporate governance research in the region. Particularly interesting this year is the changing dimensions of the regional corporate governance debates involving regulators and investors, the private and public sectors in light of the ‘Arab spring.’  

This important event is organized in cooperation with Hawkamah’s supporting partners and founding members, including the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), World Bank, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Centre for Financial Regulators (ICFR),  INSOL International, and Union of Arab Banks (UAB), among others.

ponsors of the conference include du as the Diamond Sponsor and Exclusive Telecom Partner., Bank of Sharjah, Muscat Bank, Dubai World Central, Al Baraka Banking Group, Dubal and Weil.  Media partners include the Financial Times, Executive Magazine, Business Pioneer, amongst others. 

Photo caption from left to right:

• Mahmood Ahmed
• Dr. Nasser Saidi
• Stephanie Williams

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Corporate Governance Actions Will Highlight Upcoming Hawkamah-OECD Annual Conference - Arabic
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