Читать книгу A Review of IR Practices in Bahrain - Mohamed Sr. Isa - Страница 3

INTRODUCTION

Objectives of this book

The main objective of this book is to examine Investor Relations (IR) Practices of Bahraini Listed Companies and offer recommendations to improve the local IR Practices.

The main questions to be addressed by the book are the following:

•What are the IR practices of Bahraini companies listed on Bahrain Stock Exchange?

•What are the main drivers that affect the local IR activities?

•What are the current IR practices of companies around the world?

Significance of this book

Bahrain as a Financial Center is well regarded when it comes to its regulatory financial system. It has been the undisputed financial capital of the Middle East for more than 40 years. The main contributor to this position is the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The CBB is the most successful regulatory authority in the Arab World in areas beyond Financial Services and Capital Markets regulations (Bahrain Economic Development Board, 2008). This book is significant because it will offer some recommendations to improve the currently prevailing IR practices to maintain Bahrain position as the leading Financial Center in the Middle East.

According to Thomson Reuters (2009), International Investors are keen to invest in the Middle East Region due to its promising growth prospect. However, transparency and disclosure by companies remain a deterrent for those prospective investors to engage with companies in the region. Companies in Bahrain should take the lead in improving their IR practices to attract and engage those prospective investors to bring more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), which are likely to stimulate more growth in the different economic sectors.

The internet plays a pivotal role in the globalization of the world economy by facilitating the process of disseminating of information. This book will shed light on how companies could utilize the internet to communicate with their existing and prospective investors.

Finally, this book is vital because more and more Bahraini Nationals started to invest in shares over the past few years and moved away from traditional investments mainly real estate. The subject of IR is interesting because it is a multidisciplinary field that integrates marketing, communication, finance and securities laws.

Structure of the Book

This book is divided into six chapters. The following is a brief description of each chapter.

Chapter 1 is the Review of IR Literature where the author discusses key areas on the concept of Investor Relations such as its definition, evolution, and importance.

Chapter 2 highlights the research Methodology employed in this book and the data to be collected.

The author documents the analysis, findings, and discussions in Chapters 3, 4 and 5. In Chapter 3, the author documents his analysis, findings and discussions of the website analysis conducted. Whereas in Chapter 4, he laid out the analyses, findings, and discussion of the interviews conducted. Finally, in Chapter 5, he discusses the International Investor Relations Best Practices using USA as an example. These three chapters provide the answer to the three research questions of this book.

The last chapter in this book is Chapter 6, which provides a summary and a conclusion of the entire book.

The book provides extensive, informative, and useful appendices for companies that are serious about improving their IR Practices.