As the first country in the region to exploit its oil resources, Bahrain has long had a reputation as an early mover in the Gulf. Its information technology (IT) sector is no exception, with the first mainframe computer in the region installed by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) in 1962. Following this pioneering trend, Bahrain was the first GCC...
With a large supply of residential, office and commercial space having come onto the market in recent years, the real estate sector in Bahrain is going through a period of transition as it works to absorb excess capacity. While development has slowed, financing has become easier for developers to obtain, thanks to higher levels of liquidity in...
As in many other GCC countries, the mortgage market in Bahrain was once almost exclusively the domain of the state-owned housing bank. However, this has changed over the last decade, following the 2001 constitutional amendment that allows for foreign freehold ownership of certain types of real estate. Today, more than a dozen retail banks, including...
A decade has passed since Bahrain’s telecoms sector was revolutionised by the liberalisation of the industry and the formation of an independent regulator. Over that time, the sector has evolved into one of the most open and diversified in the region. Fixed and mobile telephony and broadband services reach nearly every household, and many mobile...
Despite a challenging few years, the construction sector in Bahrain looks set to grow in 2012. In the private sector, demand has fallen off in some segments, such as high-end and mixed-use projects, but local construction and development companies have reoriented towards other areas of the market with more growth potential. Indeed, the government,...
As the mobile telecoms sector has matured and liberalised, it has put pressure on operators looking to achieve growth from a telecoms market that is reaching saturation. Indeed, even as the number of subscribers and the volume of traditional mobile traffic has continued to climb incrementally in the past few years, revenues for both prepaid and post...
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