INVESTOR CENTRE

Corporate Governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. The key elements of good governance are transparency, integrity, performance and conformance. At Batelco we are committed to principle-based, value-driven corporate governance. Our commitment is reflected in our approach which embraces the draft governance principles developed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

Batelco's Board of Directors maintain an effective oversight of organisational performance and conformance by regularly monitoring key business activities and providing directives to business through Board and sub-committees. The Audit Committee and the Trading Committee are two subcommittees that play an important role in keeping the Board informed of business activities. Batelco Board of Directors in 2009, met on numerous occasions; the frequency of these meetings and sub-committee meetings are documented in tables provided below.

Batelco recognises that without transparency there cannot be effective governance. Batelco in order to assist stakeholders gain insight into Batelco's strategic direction and results places emphasis on disclosure of financial and non financial performance and purpose and priorities of the organisation. To fulfill its transparency obligation, Batelco once every quarter publishes its financial statements and regularly makes public announcements through the media on important and significant issues that may be of interest to the stakeholders and markets.

Batelco acknowledges that integrity is central to stakeholder and market confidence. Batelco takes the fiduciary trust placed in it and its employees seriously to safeguard and steward resources belonging to others. High levels of ethical standards are maintained by having a rigorous recruitment process and regular performance and disciplinary management processes. Batelco has also implemented processes and controls to ensure that information that it provides in its annual report and announcements made to the public are reliable. Important information such as financial statements is also verified independently by external entities - such as external audit.

Batelco recognises that performance is central to creating and preserving stakeholder value: shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and communities. To create and preserve value Batelco continuously monitors and evaluates its performance, allocation of resources and processes. Based on the evaluation, improvements are made in resource allocation and processes. Clear lines of authority and accountability throughout the Company aim to eliminate inefficiencies and improve working relationships. The compliance obligations at Batelco are embedded to a large extent within the business unit activities and supported by an in house team of legal and regulatory professionals.

Batelco extends corporate governance obligations to social responsibilities which is reflected in the level of support to local businesses, charities and sponsorship of major events in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Click here to download the 2012 Corporate Governance Report.

Click here to view the 2011 Corporate Governance Report.

Click here to download the Corporate Governance Guidelines.