Solidarity & Chubb to host Corporate Governance Seminar
MANAMA, BAHRAIN – 14 April 2008 -Solidarity, one of the leading international Islamic-oriented financial services group in the world and winner of Islamic Finance News’s “Best Takaful Provider” award, will host a Corporate Governance Seminar, being held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 16 April 2008. More than 70 Gulf financial services professionals, mainly from the insurance industry, will be taking part in the one-day event, which is being organised by Solidarity General Takaful & Chubb Group at the Gulf Hotel. The seminar will explore various ways of applying the highest corporate governance standards to company boards. Speakers will include both international and GCC-based experts in the field of corporate governance.
>According to a recent report on corporate governance by the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group), companies in the Middle East and North Africa region currently face a situation where “improving transparency, professionalising board practices and reinforcing shareholder rights have become crucial to their future growth and competitiveness.”
The keynote address, given by CBB Executive Director, Financial Institutions Supervision, Abdul Rahman Al Baker, will address the importance of corporate governance to the Kingdom’s economy and outline steps the CBB has taken to encourage and implement corporate governance ‘best practices’ in Bahrain’s financial services sector.
>Solidarity Group CEO, Sameer Al Wazzan said, “Financial institutions in the Middle East region must increase their focus on corporate governance if they wish to sustain current levels of growth and expand internationally. Better corporate governance enables companies to deliver consistently and transparently to all its stakeholders, while fulfilling their responsibilities to society.”
>He added, “The business landscape in the Arab region is evolving rapidly and companies that are well-governed will ultimately have an edge over the rest. Solidarity’s first corporate governance seminar is designed to promote best practice and knowledge sharing among our industry peers. We believe that this will help accelerate the establishment of sound banking and financial systems within the Kingdom and beyond.”
>Some of the issues that will be addressed at the seminar include: the responsibilities faced by senior management as a result of cross-jurisdictional, contractual, and regulatory requirements; the economic and social benefits of introducing corporate governance in state-owned enterprises; and the benefit Bahraini companies derive from improved corporate governance throughout the GCC.
>The distinguished speakers set to address the seminar include Saleh A. Hussain, ex-General Manager of Saudi National Commercial Bank and author of ‘Corporate Governance - Middle Eastern Perspective’; Scott Creswell, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Ithmaar Bank; Jamie Allen, Secretary General, the Asian Corporate Governance Association; and Shashi Gangadharan, Vice President, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.
About Solidarity Group:
>Solidarity Group Holding BSC (closed), incorporated under the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Bahrain, has a farsightedness to become the leading international Islamic-oriented financial services group in the world.
>Solidarity Group’s authorised capital of US$500 million and it’s paid up capital of US$220 million is used to better our workings and further our client services. The Group primarily provides oversight and support to its subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures.
>Solidarity Group, with its recently established flagship subsidiaries - Solidarity Family Takaful Company and Solidarity General Takaful Company - in the Kingdom of Bahrain, is going to strengthen the financial services not just in the Middle East but worldwide.
About Ithmaar banking group:
>The Ithmaar banking group consists of: Ithmaar Bank, Shamil Bank, Solidarity (an Islamic insurance company), Faisal Private Bank (Switzerland), Faysal Bank Limited (Pakistan), First Leasing Bank and Ithmaar Development Company. The group’s services, including investment, private, retail, and commercial banking, private equity, mergers & acquisition advice, takaful, leasing, and real estate development, form a 360 degrees value chain that embraces the entire spectrum of banking and financial services.