The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has granted a license for the establishment of a firm offering outsourcing services to financial institutions. The firm, to be capitalized at $250,000, is being established by four professionals including former chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young Middle East, Ismail Amin.
The Ancillary Service to the Financial Sector license has been granted to the Gulf Outsourcing Company, which will offer such back office functions as accounting and finance, IT and human resources.
BMA is also finalizing appropriate regulation, which will facilitate the growth and development of outsourcing business from the Kingdom. The new regulation, to be announced soon, will set the requirements for banks and other financial institutions outsourcing material functions and activities. It will incorporate clauses on such critical issues as confidentiality and adequate back-up provisions.
According to Director, Licensing and Policy at the BMA, Ahmed Abdulaziz Al-Bassam, the global business process outsourcing (BPO) market, worth about $300 billion a year, is growing dramatically as corporates are increasingly turning to outsourcing as a strategic choice. Industry research shows that about 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies outsource their non-core functions.
Currently, 342 financial institutions, including banks, insurance firms and capital market brokers, operate in Bahrain. These institutions, applying both conventional and Islamic principles, offer a diverse range of services. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
