MANAMA: Against a backdrop of the collective wealth of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) which will reach $1.8 trillion by 2010, a recently formed joint venture company, Two Seas Trust BSC, will open its doors for business today. Two Seas is a JV company licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) under the Financial Trust Law 2006.
Trusts are a widely used mode of wealth management in many Western countries but remain a relatively new phenomenon in the Middle East. Bahrain is one of the first countries in the Middle East to enact its own trust law — in response to increasing wealth and interest in personal wealth planning in the region.
The new JV company will assist clients, both high net worth individuals and corporate institutions, to establish trusts in Bahrain and to provide first class trust and related administration services from Bahrain. Keypoint, a leading independent accounting and advisory services firm based in Bahrain, and Ogier, one of the largest providers of offshore legal and fiduciary services, have joined forces to create a new professional services firm in Bahrain. Two Seas Trust will offer personal and corporate trust services under Bahraini Trust Law to the increasing number of corporates and ultra high net worth individuals in the Middle East who are seeking to take advantage of the flexibility and confidentiality of the trust concept.
“Keypoint, a leading firm in Bahrain in business consultancy and advisory services, is proud to have joined forces with Ogier to establish Two Seas Trust in order to create a foundation for trust business in Bahrain and the Middle East. We are confident that the highly professional expertise of Ogier in trust services will contribute significantly toward the benefit of this industry in the region,” said Wajdi Al-Jallad, managing director of Keypoint.
“Ogier has a long history of providing clients with innovative legal and administration solutions. We are delighted to be partnering with Keypoint in establishing Two Seas Trust and look forward to working with them in providing a range of trust services in Bahrain and across the Middle East,” said Jonathan White, Ogier Group chairman.
