MANANA: The Kingdom of Bahrain, the financial and banking hub in the Middle East, emerges the most competitive among its GCC peers in terms of operating financial services businesses.
A new report released by KPMG concludes that Bahrain has one of the lowest costs of operating financial services business in the GCC region, with the average cost of key aspects such as licensing and registration, commercial rental rates, manpower costs and communication and utility expenses, being significantly lower.
The report compares the cost of operating a financial services business to other selected GCC countries and concludes that the cost would be, on average, around forty per cent lower in the Kingdom.
The report, which can be found on the Economic Development Board’s (EDB) website, also includes an overview of the average cost of living, focusing on the cost of education and the cost of renting residential properties. Both cost of living measures were higher in other GCC states, making Bahrain the most affordable country to live in.
“The report’s findings reflect the Kingdom’s competitive advantage and the strong fundamentals of its investment environment. Bahrain continues to offer investors an opportunity to access the region through a business environment that has low operating costs, a highly skilled local workforce and a strong regulatory environment,” Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board (EDB), said.
“The Gulf economies are expanding at a rapid pace and with this local, regional, and international businesses are seeking to build and expand their presence in the GCC. It’s essential for these businesses to choose a location that offers the right platform for sustainable growth, and this report highlights that the Kingdom of Bahrain offers both a very competitive cost environment and an attractive local labor pool,” Nael Nasr, Head of Management Consulting for KPMG in Bahrain, added.