Bahrain is one of the major banking centres and financial hubs of the GCC. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) regulates and supervises all components of the Bahraini financial sector, including investment companies, conventional and Islamic banking, insurance, the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) and specialised financial service providers.

We have an excellent record in this area, and our clients include some of the most prominent international and local banks, insurance companies, investment funds, financial institutions and high net worth investors.

The international natur

As our world moves increasingly online, the transfer and exchange of our personal data has become a defining, unavoidable feature of the modern economy.  Recent high-profile personal data breaches in the US and EU have demonstrated the inherent risks involved in the digital management of personal data, and has triggered legislative and regulatory action worldwide.

Bahrain has also responded swiftly to such risks, updating and modifying its data protection legal framework, and notably, creating a central Personal Data Protection Law in 2018.  The new Law introduces a large number of new data protection obligations that all companies must comply with, with penalties for breaches of such obligations including fines, investigations by the Data Protection Authority, and even criminal liability.

The collection, use, transfer and disclosure of personal data has becomes commonplace in companies of all types, industries and sizes.  The new obligations are extensive, and even the most conscientious company may inadvertently breach them without a legally sound and unified approach to data protection. As such, our global data privacy practice has grown steadily since 2018 as local and international companies seek our help in adopting sound privacy practices, ensuring regulatory and legal compliance, and protecting their competitive advantage.

e of our practice has enabled us to develop particular experience in advising on cross-border or international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing and distribution arrangements and criminal investigations.