Arab Regulators #Conference: Regional firms slow to adopt global corporate government standards

The Arab Regulators Conference, hosted by the Arab Monetary Fund, took place on 8-9 March in Abu Dhabi. The two-day conference was an opportunity for regulators to engage in an open dialogue on how to strengthen the development of corporate governance across the region. The conference was attended by over 160 delegates from 17 different countries from both the regulatory and the private sectors. Abdullatif Al Othman, Chairman of Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments (SAIIC) highlighted the importance of corporate governance. He urged attendees to adopt the highest international standards of corporate governance, to help move the region from frontier markets to emerging markets to developed markets. This year, board diversity and women’s role on the board were also widely discussed as were governance trends and best practices.