Arab financial Forum concludes


The event which was held on November 22nd -23rd, 2004, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Spa was attended by a number of important figures, including HE Abdulla bin Hassan Saif, Minister of Finance & National Economy, HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency.

Heading the incoming delegation was HSH Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein, Chairman LGT Group Foundation, Sir Roger Tomkys, Chairman Arab British Chamber of Commerce and Co-Chair AFF Advisors, among other top-level officials.

Bahrain's guide on how to prevent money laundering has won praise from Cliff Knuckley, Managing Director of RISC Global from London former and head of anti-money laundering at Scotland Yard.

He said that he advised central banks and regulators around the world and that the BMA's guide was the best he had seen and he would be using it as an example for other central banks to follow.

He added, 'I am very impressed with the booklet The Fight Against Money Laundering issued by the compliance unit of the Bahrain Monetary Agency. I have traveled extensively training regulators and law enforcement on money laundering investigation techniques and nowhere have I seen a similar publication. It is concise, information and written in plain language so that the reader is readily able to understand what money laundering is and the systems and controls requiring implementation to forestall and detect laundering. The BMA should rightly be proud of this publication and I will be recommending it to other countries and their regulators.'

Syria's Minister of Economy hailed the progress made in Bahrain and the GCC to move with the changing global economic and financial environment at a time when Syria was also embracing change.

'These changes must be acknowledged and engaged with by all countries of the region while maintaining our religious and historical legacy and civilization. Syria is embarking on a process of restructuring and rebuilding on all levels including the economic field,' he said.

'We have as other states in the region adopted for a number of decades a system of central and comprehensive planning. The political decision has now been taken to transform the economy to a market system.'

He added, 'The private sector is now given every encouragement to grow and must lead the process of change and economic development. A number of private banks are now operating in Syria and a monetary agency is taking charge of monetary policy. We are also establishing a financial market.'

Patricia McCall, an advisor to the UNDP in New York told the Forum that there was a need for continuing reform due to the pressures of demographic change, low levels of foreign direct investment and domestic private investment.

Such changes are needed to tackle levels of unemployment in the Middle East North Africa region of 40%. She praised Bahrain's lead in putting in place transparency and good governance, which was rated by the Heritage Foundation report as the most economically free country in the region.

She highlighted four barriers to investment in the region that required further study by the Forum. These were increased ownership diversity, more economic diversification, better transparency and governance and development of financial markets.

Jason Peers, managing director of Jasper Capital of London, said it was essential that small and medium sized companies were the engine room of economic growth maintenance of political and social stability. He said, 'The current momentum in capital market development across the region is encouraging but needs to be accelerated and focused on stimulating the venture capital industry and reducing bureaucratic barriers that are a major problem for small companies - especially during the start-up phase.'

'More work needs to be done in the less wealthy Arab countries to attract investment from the richer Arab countries,' he added.

Mehmet Ogutcu, head of the OECD Global Forum on international Investment and Regional programmes said: What is needed in the MENA region is the institution of a process of change rather than carrying on the well-rehearsed rhetoric about the importance of reforms. The MENA-OECD investment programme, recently launched, aims at creating such a process through which to develop investment related reform measures, track progress in their implementation and provide capacity building support. Bahrain sets an example in many respects in these areas and is both co-chair and key donor in this programme.

HSH Prince Philipp, chairman of LGT Bank and a governor of the European Financial Forum also referred to the important role that the European Financial Forum played in offering a platform for the financial centers outside the Eurozone, Liechtenstein-Switzerland and the United Kingdom, in dealing with the European Union and OECD-FATF in regulation matters. The Arab Financial Forum would play the same role in dealing with similar issues.

Prince Philipp also stressed the importance of working closely with the City of London as the most important financial center in the world as well as with partners in the European Union and the United States of America. This would be to implement standards of due diligence and anti-money laundering policies that prevent free capital markets from being abused for criminal ends without impeding in and out-bound investments.

Tim Plews, partner in Clifford Chance, spoke about the attitudes of regulators to the development of Islamic finance and its current growth, He stated that Islamic finance experts including the Bahrain Monetary Agency and the Sharia scholars who sit on Sharia committees of Islamic financial institutions have to continue their efforts in educating other financial regulators in the intricacies of Islamic finance.

The Arab financial Forum is a framework to allow senior figures from the public and private sectors develop study papers on the development of Arab financial markets. The three areas being considered include the development of capital markets, economic liberalization and regulation and the integration of Islamic finance within conventional financial structures.

Sir Gavyn Arthur, a former Lord Mayor of the City of London, is co-chair of the Forum's Board of Governors. Abdullah Bishara, vice-chairman of KIPCO and a former secretary general of the GCC co-chairs the advisory forum that produces studies. - AmeInfo

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