Mahmood Al Kooheji, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, the investment arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain, officially launched the new strategic direction for Mumtalakat as he opened the second day of the annual Euromoney Bahrain Conference today. The new direction is built on two strategic pillars with a focus on developing the existing portfolio of Mumtalakat and developing new projects in existing and new sectors in Bahrain and the regional markets. “Euromoney Bahrain is the perfect platform to tell the industry what it is we are doing, and how we are planning on doing it. The calibre of delegates, the topics covered and the overall focus of the event provide us with a captive audience composed of our key target stakeholders, allowing us to really drive our objectives home with them,” commented Mr. Al Kooheji. The CEO of Mumtalakat re affirmed its focus on Bahrain for 2013, and stated that the company is committed to investing around US$ 150 million into the Bahraini market in a number of sectors showing particular growth trends such as the real estate, aluminium downstream, and tourism and events sectors. “We are also open to exploring international investment opportunities that benefit our portfolio and the Bahraini economy.,” he continued, “though we will look at each on an individual basis and assess them according to their merits before making any final decisions..” “We believe that we are the Partner of Choice for companies and investors looking to tap into the growth markets of Bahrain and the wider GCC region, and welcome all opportunities in this regard. Though we are wholly owned by the government of Bahrain, we operate our business according to the highest international private sector standards, which has allowed us to achieve significant headway on a number of projects already, a trend we will maintain going forward,” said Mr. Al Kooheji in closing.