Despite its diversified economy, Bahrain has nonetheless faced pressures in recent years as a result of the 2014-15 drop in global oil prices. However, a multibillion-dollar aid package from other Gulf states and an accompanying fiscal adjustment plan, as well as growth following a partial oil price recovery and a major oil and gas discovery, offer hope for an economic turnaround in 2019.
Although Bahrain has faced economic headwinds in recent years, the modest recovery of oil prices in 2017 bodes well for the future in addition to the non-oil sector driving growth, with activities unrelated to hydrocarbons extraction forecast to expand by 3.9% in 2018.
Bahrain has set itself the ambitious goal of universal ultra-fast broadband. Enthusiastic adoption of smartphones by consumers, coupled with investment by mobile network operators in the latest technology, have seen a rapid increase in broadband penetration, in turn laying the foundations for further growth in the sector.
Bahrain has long remained an attractive place for testing business concepts, with easy scalability in neighbouring markets. The country aims to become a centre of innovation and technological disruption in finance. New regulatory processes from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) allow financial technology (fintech) companies to trial new ideas...
What opportunities are presented by the transition of demand from voice to data, and what role, if any, does generational change play?
Recognised by the government as an engine for growth, economic diversification and social cohesion, the telecoms sector in Bahrain is expected to play a vital role in enabling the kingdom to achieve its ambition of becoming a regional centre for digital technology. Since ownership was liberalised in the early 21st century, the industry has...
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