Manama: Bahrain’s plans to build on what proved to be a record-breaking year for FDI are mapped out in a new report from the Oxford Business Group (OBG).
The Report: Bahrain 2019 provides in-depth coverage of the sectors that are attracting new investment and helping to drive non-oil growth. It also considers the key role that regulatory reforms aimed at further enhancing the kingdom’s business climate are expected to play in helping Bahrain to continue boosting inflows, which reached $810m in the first nine months of 2018, according to the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
OBG’s publication shines a spotlight on Bahrain’s financial services industry, which is benefiting from strong growth in the fintech segment. The report analyses the key role that the recently launched Bahrain FinTech Bay is playing in galvanising this important field. In addition, OBG looks at the expansion under way in the insurance segment, where penetration rates are continuing to rise against a backdrop of mergers and acquisitions.
The country’s industrial sector, which has long helped to drive forward Bahrain’s successful diversification efforts, is another focus. Topics examined by OBG include the national producer Aluminium Bahrain’s plans to boost capacity by introducing a new pot line in the coming months, together with the growing contribution that innovative concepts, such as automation and artificial intelligence, are making across the kingdom’s quickly expanding manufacturing industry.
A raft of infrastructure projects and plans to build more affordable homes look set to maintain heightened activity across Bahrain’s construction sector, bucking the trend of slower regional growth. The Report: Bahrain 2019 documents the major initiatives in the pipeline, which include a range of transport upgrades, led by a $1.1bn new airport terminal, a planned, additional causeway connecting Bahrain with Saudi Arabia, and other ventures financed in part by neighbouring Gulf states, aimed at improving travel by land and sea.
In its coverage of Bahrain’s hydrocarbons sector, OBG explores the positive impact that a recent major oil and gas discovery is expected to have on the kingdom’s economy in the coming years. It tracks the country’s efforts to attract investors for the new initiative, while also looking at the measures being implemented to maximise value from existing reserves, including the utilisation of new technology.
The Report: Bahrain 2019 contains a viewpoint from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, together with a detailed sector-by-sector guide for investors.
It also features a wide range of interviews with other high-profile personalities, including: Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive, EDB ; Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO, Real Estate Regulatory Authority; Mahmood Alkooheji, CEO, Mumtalakat; Tim Murray, CEO, Alba; Jean-Christophe Durand, CEO, National Bank of Bahrain; and Mohamed Al Binfalah, CEO, Bahrain Airport Company.
Commenting ahead of the launch, OBG’s Editor-in-Chief, Oliver Cornock, said that although Bahrain’s decision to embark on the process of diversifying its economy ahead of its peers meant it was now well placed to benefit from a well-established non-oil sector.
“Bahrain’s manufacturing industry continues to perform strongly, buoyed by close relations with important neighbouring trade partners, while the country’s bid to become a regional centre of innovation is also gaining pace,” he said. “With privatisation initiatives now poised to generate new growth, our report points to a promising outlook for 2019.”
OBG’s Regional Editor for the Middle East, Billy FitzHerbert, added that like other producers, Bahrain was also now benefiting from higher oil prices.
“Although non-oil growth remains a priority, the kingdom had made clear its commitment to maintaining and even increasing levels of oil and gas production, well before last year’s major hydrocarbons find was announced,” he said. “These are early days; however, the size and scale of the new oil and gas discovery suggests that Bahrain will be well placed to significantly boost output over the coming decades.”
The Report: Bahrain 2019 marks the culmination of more than 12 months of field research by a team of analysts from Oxford Business Group. The publication assesses trends and developments across the country, including those in macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and others.