BAHRAIN'S BULWARK

摘要

AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF BAHRAIN HUHTALAKAT HOLDING CO., MOST OF THE OFFICES AND MEETING ROOMS ARE WALLED IN PLATE GLASS. VISITORS ESCORTED TO THE CONFERENCE ROOM OUTSIDE MAHMOODAL KOOHEJI'S FOURTH-FLOOR OFFICE CAN ORSERVE THE SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT WORK AND ENJOY THE VIEW OF THE MANAMA SKYLINE AND GULF WATERS. FOR AL KOOHE Jl THE OPENNESS OF THE OFFICE IS MORE THAN A MATTER OF AESTHETICS. IT'S A SYMROL OF TRANSPARENCY -A QUALITY HE DEEMS VITAL FOR MANAGING THE KINGDOM'S SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND. "The thing about transparency is people fear it," Al Kooheji, who has spent more than two decades in the Bahraini government, tells Institutional Investor. "But once you get used to it, you don't want it to go away." Tasked with managing the kingdom's non-oil and gas investments, Mumtalakat-Arabic for "assets" - seeks to turn around state-owned enterprises by promoting private sector-style transparency and sound corporate governance. The $11.2 billion fund holds stakes in 38 enterprises, including many of the country's largest employers, with a total value of about $8 billion. It has undertaken major restructurings at several ofthesecompanies, including twoofthemostcritical: Aluminum Bahrain and Gulf Air. "Our mission is very simple: just run our portfolio commercially," Al Kooheji says in a calm, fatherly tone befitting the protector of the nation's most strategic assets.