*  *  *  Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: It gives me great pleasure to be with you here today and to take part in the launch of the proposed new Corporate Governance Code for all public companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Although this initiative has been led by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Central Bank has been involved at all stages in the development of the new Code and we are strong supporters of it. We will be working with the financial sector and listed companies on the implementation of both the spirit and letter of the new Code.