FDI inflows to Bahrain grew 114% in 2017, according to data released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the fastest growth rate in the GCC. The rapid growth came in spite of a drop in global FDI of 23%.

Growth in investment was supported by a number of major economic reforms in recent years - with UNCTAD citing Bahrain's amendments to its commercial companies law allowing 100% foreign ownership in additional sectors as an example of liberalisation supporting FDI growth. This has continued into 2018 with several significant developments in the first half of the year.

"Foreign direct investment creates jobs, diversifies the economy and fuels growth - so we are delighted to see such strong momentum, even against a challenging global backdrop. This proves the growing interest in the GCC opportunity is translating into investment," said Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive, Bahrain EDB.

"We have undertaken a number of significant initiatives in the first half of this year to build on this success and we expect to announce a number of further measures in the coming months, helping investors to access the GCC opportunity."

Bahrain's reforms were also recognised as Site Selection magazine recently named Bahrain as the best place to invest in the Middle East and Africa per capita for the third year in a row.

The 'Best to Invest' rankings are determined by the level of capital investments in the country and performance on key international indices published by organisations such as the World Bank, WEF and UNDP. The rankings also saw Bahrain EDB included in the list of Top Investment Promotion Agencies for 2018, one of only four agencies from the region included.

As well as being among the leading locations to invest, Bahrain has also been ranked as the best place in the world for expatriates to live, reflecting the high quality of life on offer in the country. The InterNations Expat Insider rankings ranked the Kingdom as the top expat destination in the world - citing the welcoming environment and ease of settling in as key factors.

Among the most prominent developments in 2018 has been the growth of the Bahrain FinTech ecosystem, including the launch of Bahrain FinTech Bay, the largest fintech hub in MENA; the establishment of a $100m Fund of Funds to help fund start-ups across the Middle East; and a growing number of companies using the Central Bank of Bahrain's regulatory sandbox to develop new products and services.

These advances were reflected in the recent Global Startup Ecosystem Report, released by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Startup Genome, which included Bahrain in global 'ecosystems to watch' in both fintech and gaming. Bahrain was the only Arab country to be included in either list.

The Kingdom also saw a number of major announcements last month during Gateway Gulf Forum, which brought together over five hundred global investors and business leaders to explore ways of unlocking the opportunities being created by the economic transformation in the GCC. The event provided a direct route into accessing the GCC market by showcasing major investment-ready projects worth USD $18billion, with projects in the planning phase driving up the value of the project pipeline to USD $26 billion.

Among the announcements were the launch of the $1bn Bahrain Energy Fund, the first such fund in the GCC and which will be unique in providing institutional investors with access to local energy assets and the launch of Bahrain's first five star 'retreat' style destination by Al Sahel Resort Company, as part of the broader development of the country's tourism sector.

Kanoo Travel Partners were honoured during its Ramadan Ghabga .

The event at the Kanoo Guest House in Mahooz was attended by senior management of Kanoo Travel, airline suppliers and General Sales Agents (GSAs).

“We are always keen to strengthen ties with our loyal partners who have been supportive of Kanoo Travel for years,” said Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group Board Director Nabeel Mohamed Kanoo.

“Our business is growing because of their cooperation and this gathering is our way of saying thank you to them.”

Kanoo Travel is a fully-owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group and operates a network of 70 IATA locations with a team of over 900 travel specialists across the region.

Kanoo Travel’s booth in the 2018 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai attracted over 1,000 visitors, ranging from small to mid-level agencies including existing customers.

Krystal Online, a new cloud-based travel technology owned and distributed by Kanoo Travel played a pivotal role in attracting the large number of visitors.

“Being in the 2018 Arabian Travel Market was an opportunity to strengthen relationships with our clients and to inform them about our latest technology, Krystal Online, which received a lot of attention from many travel agencies. It was also an opportunity to showcase our 81 years of history in the Travel Industry,” said Nabeel Khalid Kanoo, Board Director at YBA Kanoo Group.

The new technology allows travel agents to search and book from multiple global suppliers, over 500,000 hotels & car rentals worldwide, with dynamic content such as maps, photos, and videos through its travel affiliate network program.

“During the four days’ event, executives of renowned institutions such as Sabre, Amadeus, American Express, Emirates, Etihad, and Oman Air were introduced to Krystal online. We received a lot of positive feedback regarding the new technology and discussed several partnership proposals,” mentioned, Interim Executive General Manager of Kanoo Travel, Zaeem Gama.

The 2018 ATM also witnessed the signing of a strategic agreement between Kanoo Travel and Kalaam Telecom to enhance the service excellence of the call center hubs.

Kanoo Travel a fully owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group (YBA Kanoo) boasts a wide market presence with offices in Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, and the UK. It also prides itself in solely representing American Express Global Business Travel , one of the largest travel management companies globally.

Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrain government, has celebrated the opening of its BHD 7.6 million state-of-the-art carpark complex “The Terminal”. The opening ceremony was attended by key stakeholders including Edamah’s board of directors, investors, contractors and prospective tenants.

Strategically located in the vibrant fine dining “Block 338” – Adliya, the Terminal is carefully designed to provide a full-service solution for visitors to the busiest part of Adliya, bringing together dining, commercial outlets, and convenient smart parking all under one roof. The Terminal’s first two tenants will include a trademark of The Living Concepts Company, Maya Gold a new elevated concept of Maya la Chocolaterie. Maya has evolved into an artisan chocolate brand operating out of its home base in Bahrain and Dose an artisanal coffee shop and is an organic coffee shop in Bahrain established in Kuwait City. Dose owns and operates a chain of owned quick-service café in Kuwait and very soon all over GCC.  In addition, The Terminal provides visitors access to over 330 carparks and 10 outlets on a land area of 4,801 square meters.

In the next five years, Edamah aims to develop more than 1,000 carpark spaces all to be managed through the centralised smart software intended to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction. Through the auto pay machines, visitors to the terminal will be able to pay the carpark fees using cash, debit card, credit card, and mobile app. Edamah’s three-year project pipeline is worth around BHD 14 million and features developments, such as Sa’ada waterfront development  and a multi-storey carpark Salmaniya carpark amongst others.

HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of Edamah said: “Edamah has an ambitious five-year strategy which will contribute to Bahrain’s plans for robust investment in domestic infrastructure, supporting the national economy by enabling technological integration in architecture. Our future project portfolio will be enhancing existing projects in addition to new projects to be developed which will include industrial, retail, leisure and recreational projects utilising some of the most spectacular waterfront settings available in the Kingdom.

“During Q4 2017, the real estate sector grew by 7.6% due to high demand for residential, tourism and retail developments in the Kingdom. Edamah is seizing the opportunity by responding to this high demand, developing a diversified portfolio of commercially viable projects.”

In 2017, a new real estate law were put in-effect following consultation with the private sector in the Kingdom to specifically support growth in the sector. The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) was established to enable a robust, secure and sustainable environment that encourages regional and global investment.

Led by its non-oil sector, Bahrain has achieved strong economic momentum with forecasts suggesting this will continue into 2018 with a brighter outlook across the GCC 

Data published in the latest Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ) reveals that Bahrain’s real GDP grew by 3.9% in 2017, with the non-oil economy expanding by 5%, making it the fastest growing country in the GCC.

According to the quarterly report produced by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the pace of growth in the Kingdom ‘accelerated markedly’ in 2017 compared to 3.2% in 2016. This strong performance in the face of sluggish regional growth was driven by broad-based success across the highly-diversified non-oil private sector, led by tourism, a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects, and a record year for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Earlier this month, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook forecast that Bahrain’s economy would continue to be the fastest growing economy in the GCC in 2018, suggesting momentum is expecting to be maintained into the current year.

Regionally, the BEQ predicts a significantly brighter outlook for the GCC in 2018, with a pronounced pick-up expected as economic diversification and fiscal consolidation efforts transition to their next phase and create a broad revenue base across the non-oil economy. The region’s future outlook will be at the heart of the upcoming investor forum, Gateway Gulf, which will bring together investors and business leaders from around the world in Bahrain on 8-10 May to unlock growth opportunities across the GCC.

Speaking on the publication of the BEQ, Dr Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist, Bahrain EDB, commented: “Bahrain’s economic resilience aligns with broader regional and global trends in which we see more diversified economies tending to achieve faster growth. Region-wide, business confidence and growth momentum are set to benefit from a more benign outlook in the oil sector and we expect 2018 to mark an important milestone as the GCC’s makes the economic paradigm shift towards diversified private-sector led growth economies”.

Growth in Bahrain is being driven by a variety of strongly performing industries, led by tourism with the hotels and restaurants sector expanding by 9.5% in 2017, total visitor expenditure rising by 8.9% and the average length of stay increasing 2.5% to 2.82 days, in line with the government’s strategy to boost the sector and encourage longer stays from existing visitors. Other high performing sectors in 2017 included social and personal services (9.4%), led by private education and healthcare, trade (8.5%), real estate and professional services (5.5%) and financial services (5%). Additionally, the EDB attracted BHD 276 million of foreign direct investment into Bahrain in 2017, a record year for the organization. This represents an increase of 161% from 2016, and is expected to generate 2,800 jobs over the next three years.

The success of private sector industries across the Bahraini ecosystem supports the widespread recognition the Kingdom enjoys as a regional pioneer of economic diversification thanks to sustained efforts to improve the business and regulatory environment. This process continued apace in 2017, with data suggesting the oil and gas sector now accounts for only 18.4% of Bahrain’s real GDP, compared to 43.6% in 2000.

Despite the demonstrable success of economic diversification, oil and gas remains a strong component of Bahrain’s economy, with the Kingdom’s oil sector set to transition to an era of renewed growth. Therefore, the recent announcement that Bahrain has discovered its largest oil and natural gas repository since it began producing in 1932, is a significant boost to its future economic outlook. The 2,000 sq km Khalij al Bahrain field, which is expected to start production within the coming five years, is mainly composed of shale oil and natural gas in quantities that far exceed Bahrain’s current reserves, with a recent resource evaluation suggesting levels capable of supporting the long-term extraction of oil and gas.

Building on Bahrain’s strong economic platform highlighted by the latest BEQ figures, the EDB will bring together regional and global government, business and investment leaders next week at the first Gateway Gulf investor forum, hosted in Manama, Bahrain on 8-10 May. The exclusive invitation-only forum will deep-dive into growth opportunities across the GCC and showcase new investment-ready project across diverse industries including tourism, manufacturing, real estate, transport, energy, water and power.