The Middle East

New regulations from the Central Bank of Bahrain that seek to target the marketing of unauthorised financial services have recently been introduced. This new regulation is intended not only to regulate all the financial services and products that are offered in Bahrain, but also to safeguard the interests of the foreign financial institutions who wish to offer or market financial products and...

The Third National Telecommunications Plan, unveiled in 2012, lays out the goals of developing a national broadband network and providing the regulatory framework necessary for implementing fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G LTE) technology. A considerable improvement in the country’s ICT capabilities, represented by a jump of five places from 45th to 40th between 2011 and 2012 in the ICT...

Bahrain offers both citizens and residents a wide range of care provided by the government and the private sector. The government spent almost $557.86m on health care in 2011, which was an increase of close to 8% over 2010. Since that year it has been implementing a strategy to improve health care provision, which has focused, in large part, on integrating medical services and providing greater...

Events have been planned to celebrate Bahrain’s year as the Capital of Arab Tourism in 2013. MICE venues, such as the Bahrain Exhibition and Conference Authority’s complex at Sanabis, seek to offer a diverse range of meeting spaces, often in conjunction with hotels. Cruise ships are expected to further boost visitor numbers: the kingdom saw a record number of cruise ship arrivals for Bahrain in...

Projects aimed at expanding the metals and petrochemicals segments are underway, with the current aluminium production of 2m tonnes set to increase to 10m tonnes by 2020 and plans from the Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company to triple output of ammonia related products. There has also been a drive to create favourable conditions for foreign investment, including numerous business parks and...

With instability in the real estate sector largely stabilised after a slump in the property market, the government and private firms are focusing on the issue of affordable housing for nationals, with a plan to provide housing to 54,000 Bahrainis waiting for a subsidised government home. In the construction sector, plans are also in place to improve transport infrastructure, with roads and...