“Headline GDP growth is projected to have come in at close to 5%, above all driven by substantial gains in the oil and gas sector. Overall, the GCC economies are expecting growth to accelerate to 4.4% in 2014,” Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, said.
“Today, the GCC economies are worth $1.5 trillion and are expected to reach $2 trillion by 2020. Given these various factors at play, we are delighted to once again be hosting the Euromoney Bahrain Conference in March 2014, which represents an important platform and brings together key regional, local and international figures,” Minister added.
The Minister was speaking ahead of Euromoney Conference to be held in Bahrain later this year.
Euromoney will return to Manama in March 2014 for their flagship Bahrain event, run in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). This is the third consecutive year in which the event is taking place.
The 2014 conference has expanded its focus and will now look at the role that financial services can play in regional development. The new agenda will emphasize on capital flow across borders in the GCC and the wider region. The conference will also provide a platform for discussion on the lack of regional banks in the true sense of the word, and why there appear to be many financial ‘centres’ in the region.
The conference allows participants to discuss and analyse the role of regional capital markets, what form they should take, and whether they should exist. The focus of the sessions will be kept on Bahrain – looking at key sectors in the Kingdom which has relevance for the wider region, such as, real estate, housing, SMEs, and hydrocarbons.
This year’s event is set to attract a high level audience from the region, with top senior business heads and government officials keen to discuss and debate the future direction of the region’s financial services.
“We are delighted to announce that Bahrain’s Minister of Finance, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa is confirmed to give the keynote opening address, affirming the growing importance of this annual event,” Richard Banks, Director of Emerging Markets for Euromoney Conferences, said.