Dubai and Washington D.C., September 15, 2006 — Downward corrections in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) stock markets and increased corporate activity by GCC corporations in Western markets are driving improvements in corporate governance standards, according to a report released today by Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, and the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The report was released at the IIF's annual meeting in Singapore, as part of a coordinated strategy toward the harmonization of corporate governance standards in the GCC and their alignment with international best practice.