As the region integrates into the global marketplace, corporate governance holds one of the keys to improve country and firm competitiveness, increase transparency and social accountability, develop efficient mechanisms for transferring wealth between generations, and attract greater domestic and foreign direct and portfolio investment. 

Realizing the benefits of good corporate governance, central banks and capital markets in the GCC countries are developing corporate governance frameworks to advance a globally competitive corporate sector.  But very little has been done to capture this changing business environment that will have ramifications in the way business is done in the region.  

The Hawkamah Institute of Corporate Governance, jointly with the Institute of International Finance (IIF), recently established a GCC Task Force to conduct an investor-centric corporate governance assessment of the Gulf region, and to create a benchmark on corporate governance practices in the region. The Task Force will  be publishing 6 country specific reports and a comparative survey of the GCC countries. 

The seminal reports comprising of individual country reports for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and a comparative survey, published in Arabic and English, identify: 

    •  Key corporate governance issues facing individual countries
    •  Provides detailed analyses of their corporate governance frameworks
    •  Offers recommendations for improving the corporate governance environment in the countries

Co-chaired by Dr. Nasser Saidi, Executive Director, Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, and Mr. Keith Savard, Director, Global Economic Analysis, Institute of International Finance, the Task Force met with a cross-section of senior-government officials, bank and capital market regulators, asset and pension fund managers, stock exchange executives, and experts in corporate governance from all six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) and undertook an analysis of corporate governance frameworks. 

If you are involved in capital markets, banking and financial services, investment and fund management, corporate strategy development, management consultation, and economic policy making, this publication is a ‘must-read’ to keep abreast of the changing investment and business environment in the GCC countries. Fund managers, bankers, CEOs of major companies, policy makers, regulators, researchers, and members of the media, will find the reports useful and enlightening.  

Reserve your advanced copy now!

Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, an autonomous international association, advances corporate governance reform in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia by assisting countries and companies of the region to develop and implement sound and globally well-integrated corporate governance frameworks.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) is the world’s only global association of financial institutions. It is a major source of data, analysis, and forecasts regarding emerging market economies, The IIF has also been engaged in significant policy initiative in the regulatory sphere and in emerging market finance on behalf of its more than 350 members.