The Middle East

Bahrain has gone through a series of economic challenges in the past five years. A primary source of these is the downturn in the real estate market. In an effort to combat the negative effects of the downturn on investors, three significant laws have been issued since 2014 regulating the dealings of all parties involved in the real estate...

The two main general frameworks governing the preparation and presentation of the financial statements are the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

In 2007 the six-member GCC agreed in principle to try out a VAT on a collective basis. It is important to remember that oil was trading at above $140 per barrel in early 2008. Some nine years later, when oil was trading at around $30 per barrel, or 72% less than in 2007, the GCC states faced calls from international bodies including the IMF to...

The UK’s decision to leave the EU caught the financial markets by surprise and drove them to a period of real uncertainty. The unexpected results led to a broad sell-off across continents and asset classes. Because the UK is the fifth-largest economy in the world, it is critical that the Brexit process be carried out in an efficient and timely...

The tightening of banking rules and regulations has been an ongoing pattern worldwide, particularly following the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

The ICT sector in Bahrain is now a major pillar of the economy, and also one of the core sectors Bahrain is focused on developing, both to attract direct foreign investment but also to grow human resources and help propel Bahrain as a regional ICT centre. Recent years have seen a significant expansion in the ICT landscape, as well as a push...