The Middle East

The Kingdom’s tradition of innovation continues to makes it one of the most vibrant IT centres in the region. Sustained investment from the public and private sectors has seen businesses and government services move online, bringing cost-saving gains in efficiency. Throughout 2011, which saw many Bahraini businesses challenged by decreased investor confidence and consumer spending, the IT sector...

A decade has passed since Bahrain’s telecoms sector was revolutionised by the liberalisation of the industry and the formation of an independent regulator. Fixed and mobile telephony and broadband services reach nearly every household, and many mobile users maintain multiple SIM cards, giving a mobile penetration rate well over 100%. Within such a highly competitive sector, telecoms companies are...

Despite a challenging few years, the Bahraini construction sector looks set to grow in 2012. Local construction and development companies have reoriented towards areas of the market with the most potential, including social housing and transport infrastructure projects. The government aims to increase public transport usage from 5% to 25% of total journeys per day, planning a wealth of public...

While the Kingdom’s established heavy industries continue to play an important role in the economy, the government is seeking to diversify industrial activity into areas such as high-tech manufacturing and the downstream aluminium segment. After aluminium, petrochemicals is the largest industry in Bahrain, with ammonia, methanol and urea all produced locally. While steps are being taken to...

As the first GCC country to discover hydrocarbons, Bahrain is now moving into a new period in its history where more complex techniques are required to extract its oil and natural gas deposits. Given that high oil prices have helped sustain the oil sector’s export earnings and contribution to the economy, the Kingdom has undertaken a renewed effort to increase its crude oil output. The country...

The Kingdom’s insurance industry has traditionally been strong, regularly posting double-digit year-on-year growth, mirroring the expansion of the wider financial sector. The global financial crisis and recent political unrest, however, have presented the industry with a number of challenges in recent years. For example, the unrest made the implementation of the planned new mandatory health law...