Mumtalakat banks on transparency

After publishing its second set of annual results last week, and with an international rating on the way, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company seems determined to earn a reputation as the most transparent sovereign wealth fund in the Gulf.

“Unlike most of the funds in the region, we do not get our income from oil revenues,” says Talal al-Zain, chief executive. “But what also differentiates us, and makes us more of an investment company, is the level of transparency we strive for.”

Transparency can prove a double-edged sword, however. Its latest results show that Mumtalakat made a BD69.3m ($183.8m) loss last year, which it attributes to BD370m of impairment charges for Gulf International Bank and Gulf Investment Company. Both financial institutions, which are jointly owned by the governments of the Gulf Co-operation Council, were hit hard by the credit crisis last year.