A delegation led by Economic Development Board chief economist Dr Jarmo Kotilaine is attending the Fund Forum 2015 in Monaco, it was announced yesterday (June 30).

Billed as the world’s largest event for fund managers and global distribution partners, the forum started on Monday and ends tomorrow, said a report in the Gulf Daily news (GDN), our sister publication.

Dr Jarmo Kotilaine opened the second day of the conference with an address to the conference and chaired the day’s activities.

The Bahrain delegation includes Bahrain Bourse chief executive Shaikh Khalifa bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Central Bank of Bahrain Licensing and Policy Directorate superintendent of licensing Abdulla Haji and SICO associate Abdulhameed Khonji.

“The Gulf is undergoing a great transformation,” EDB chief economist Dr Jarmo Kotilaine said.

“The six countries of the GCC are diversifying their economies away from oil and gas and have rapidly growing populations with investible assets on the lookout for sophisticated financial products and services.

“The GCC market will become increasingly important to international asset managers in the coming years both as a source of capital and as a region in which to invest.

“As a result, it is important for us to play our part in the discussions about the future of the industry and contribute to events such as Fund Forum,” he added.

Bahrain has more than 400 registered financial institutions and has been a financial centre for the Middle East region for more than 30 years.

Bahrain is also a global leader in the Islamic finance industry and hosts the highest concentration of Islamic finance institutions found anywhere in the world. - TradeArabia News Service