Thanks to a famously prudent yet flexible regulatory system, Bahrain’s lenders have been able to extend from a relatively small domestic base to become significant regional and global players. The extent of their reach helps them remain resilient amidst the challenges caused by regional unrest and falling oil prices over the past year. While...
With fewer hydrocarbons resources than many of its Gulf neighbours, Bahrain’s status as a financial centre is crucial to its long-term economic development. One of the biggest concerns arising from the political unrest of 2011, therefore, was that is banking sector would see an exodus of brand names to other Gulf capitals. The decision by...
In a low-tax nation such as Bahrain the obvious part of the balance sheet to look at when addressing a stubborn fiscal deficit is government spending. It is hardly surprising, then, that over the past year the question of government subsidies has come to the fore in the public debate on the nation’s challenging economic situation.
One of the unfortunate consequences of the recent fall in oil prices is a regional tightening of lending conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The vulnerability of smaller firms to business interruptions means that lenders adopt a cautious stance, often demanding more collateral or stricter documentation standards, and...
Despite declining oil prices and a renewed focus on fiscal contraction, one government body has bucked the consolidation trend and embarked on a new phase of expansion. Established in 2006, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company is the independent holding company for Bahrain’s strategic non-oil-and-gas-related assets, and as such is the government...
Bahrain’s economic story over the past year is one of two parts: while the government has given much attention to the nation’s stubborn fiscal deficit and a challenging process of subsidy reduction, a longer-term focus has remained on the objective of economic diversification that the kingdom established in the early years of this century....
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