Law firm Ogier and Keypoint have teamed up to form a new profession services company in Bahrain in the Middle East.
Keypoint, a leading independent accounting and advisory services firm based in Bahrain, while Ogier is an international company with offices in the Cayman Islands and other parts of the world.
Called ‘Two Seas Trust’ the business 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.
The Joint Venture has been licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain under the Financial Trust Law 2006.
“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,” Wajdi Al Jallad, Managing Director of Keypoint, said while announcing the new venture.
“We are confident that the highly professional expertise of Ogier in trust services will contribute significantly towards the benefit of this industry in the region.”
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.
Jonathan White, Ogier Group Chairman, said: “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.”
Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Bahrain, which facilitated the establishment of Two Seas Trust in Bahrain, welcomed the new company.
“Two Seas Trust is a very welcome addition to Bahrain’s thriving professional services sector. Bahrain is the most established and developed finance centre in the Gulf with a highly diversified economy, and as such relies heavily upon fiduciary and other professional services to support the wide range of companies based here,” he said.
“The choice of Bahrain by Keypoint and Ogier as a location for their new joint venture reflects not only the strong reputation of Bahraini trust law, developed by the CBB, but also the business-friendly attitude which makes setting up in the Kingdom both simple and cost-effective.”