The time has come for an integrated GCC financial market, said the CEO of Joatha Informatics, Ihsan Ali Bu-Hulaiga at the 4th GCC Economic Forum on Sunday.
Countries would achieve higher economic growth, the contribution of the private sector to GDP would increase, and public debt would diminish. In addition, Hulaiga added, diversification would occur, which would in turn help future privatization initiatives.
An integrated financial market is also a prerequisite for monetary union, he said.
He stressed however, that the financial market is only one part of the whole economy, which includes the labor, goods and services market.
"Integrated financial markets do not physically represent a single market," he said, according to <i>Khaleej Times</i>. "Rather they are rather multiple markets with harmonized regulations."
Hulaiga added that the experience of the European Union offered important lessons in financial integration, including the four phases recommended in the Lamfalussy Report for a unified financial market.
Under the proposed plan for unification there would be one GCC capital market authority (CMA) based in Abu Dhabi, under which there would be the local CMAs and one regional GCC stockmarket.
