The Kingdom of Bahrain, a banking and financial centre in the Middle East, offers unparallel advantages to the investors, new businesses, thanks to the strong fundamentals and advanced infrastructure.
This was the crux of the discussion during the quarterly Meet the Press Spring 2013 organised by the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) and addressed by the Chairman BAB Abdulkarim Bucheery, Board member Mohammed Al Mutawa, BFX CEO Arshad Khan and Chief Economist at the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Advisor to the EDB.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain’s banking and financial sector remained resilient during the financial crisis and the GDP is set to grow at 6% in 2013,” BAB Chief Abdulkarim Bucheery said.
He added that there was no evidence that any company or business was planning to relocate business to any other country in the Middle East.
“Bahrain offers unparallel advantages to businesses and financial institutions and statement that Dubai, Qatar and the UAE as well as Saudi Arabia are vying for the status of being a financial capital was nit based on facts,” the Chief Economist at the EDB said.
BAB invited representatives of local and international media organisations to meet members of its board and other senior officials drawn from its membership of almost 90 banks based in Bahrain.
The financial sector is the largest contributor to Bahrain’s GDP with a 25 percent stake in the economy. But its importance goes beyond its actual fiscal contribution as it is a key factor in attracting trade and enterprise and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Bahrain. The financial sector is also one of the largest sources of employment for Bahrainis who make up 65 percent of the workforce. This in turn has led to world-class institutions offering training and education for students entering the banking sector and on-going professional development for experienced bankers.
The topics focussed on annual bank results released to date look positive from both retail and wholesale banks in the conventional and Islamic sectors and this confirms the trends indicated in the Bahrain Banks’ Review
“Economic Development Board’s (EDB) latest Economic Quarterly shows that overall growth for the year estimated at 3.9% with all the main sectors of the economy recording positive growth. It is currently estimated that real GDP growth could exceed 6% in 2013.
S&P has revised the outlook of Bahrain from negative to stable. What are the implications of this action on the part of the economy and the financial sector?
Three Bahrain-based banks have now merged and there are prospects for further moves towards consolidation especially in the Islamic banking sector. How will this make Bahraini banks more competitive and improve shareholder returns?
The BAB Chief said that closure of Bahrain Air and Arcapita banks were isolated incidents and likely to not have major impact on the economy.