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Economy
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In Bahrain, petroleum production and refining account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Bahrain is dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil revenue granted as aid. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from refining imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.
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Infrastructure
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In the early 1960s, Bahrain began to diversify its industry from simple oil production into petroleum refining, petrochemicals, aluminium and downstream industries, manufacturing, ship repair, and services -- industrial, financial and business. The aim was twofold: to accelerate economic growth and to provide employment for Bahrainis.
To encourage private sector investment, the government has instituted an unprecedented series of industrial development and employment initiatives. These initiatives have been further strengthened and enhanced by legislation allowing 100% foreign ownership to onshore companies and a more equitable agency law. The government has also maintained its commitment to zero taxes on corporate and personal income.
No world-class multinational company would consider a major investment anywhere unless the infrastructure were in place. And in Bahrain, besides easy access to an enormous regional market through an excellent road system and a causeway linking Bahrain with eastern Saudi Arabia, the island state has become the international financial services capital of the Middle East.
Most major Arab financial institutions have offices in Bahrain as do many international banks, branches of foreign insurance companies and exempt companies trading offshore. The country is also an international and regional wholesale inter-bank money market centred on its offshore banking sector which was first established in 1975 with assets of US$ 70 billion.
A firm but flexible regulatory environment is directed by the Bahrain Monetary Agency. The Bahraini dinar is a freely convertible and stable currency, firmly linked to the US dollar.
This environment has seen the development of a successful stock exchange. The gross volume of shares increased from 62 million in 1989 to nearly 400 million in 1993.
Servicing the financial and business sectors is a digital telecommunication system as advanced as any in the world. Services include exclusive private channels, access to international data bases and the internet plus specially developed communication systems for bank treasury operations.
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Attracting new business
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A major push is on to attract information technology companies. World class computer and software companies such as Silicon Graphics and Digital Equipment have chosen Bahrain as their regional base for sales and support operations. In attracting such business and investment to Bahrain, the government can point to ten purpose-built industrial areas accommodating over 500 different manufacturing and service companies.
With a safe and cosmopolitan lifestyle and mature industrial infrastructure, with industrial incentives unique to the region, with its reputation as a banking centre, with a legal system geared to protection of capital and with its strategic location, Bahrain offers itself as a premier Middle East investment location.
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The workforce
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Female (as % of labour force): 20 % (1998)
Male (as % of labour force): 80 % (1998)
Agriculture: 2.0 % (1990)
Industry: 29.8 % (1990)
Services: 68.2 % (1990)
With a high level of government support for education, Bahrain has one of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world and the highest female literacy rate in the Gulf. Considering the small size of the country, its indigenous population is one of the largest local workforces in the Gulf and is set to grow. Between 1994 and 2000, the number of school leavers seeking jobs will be over 40,000.
The five colleges of Bahrain University offer degrees ranging from B.Sc. and BA to higher level post-graduate diplomas and Masters Degrees in Education, Civil Engineering and an MBA. The faculty of the university also offers continuing education programmes aimed at professionals already in the field. The Diploma programme emphasizes engineering and business administration degrees.
Bahrain University as well as the country's vocational schools and colleges are geared to steering students to rewarding jobs in business. At the same time, investment incentives are offered to projects requiring more skilled and educated local staff.
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Exhibition Centre
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Impressive by any standards, the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre located a short drive from downtown Manama is one of the best equipped facilities of its kind in the Middle East. The General Manager, Ahmed Al Shamlan, explains the centre's success:
"We have mounted an extensive promotional campaign including visits to the UK and the Far East; we offer organizers very competitive rates in a superbly equipped building and we have a policy of protecting our client's interests by not permitting more than one exhibition covering the same subject."
The Centre offers 8000 square metres of column-free internal floor space in the main hall. There are comprehensive under-floor services and 10,000 square metres of external space. Parking for 800 vehicles is offered to exhibitors. Complementing these facilities are a fully-equipped Conference Suite, two large meeting rooms and eight hospitality suites.
State of the art communications, a well-developed infrastructure and Bahrain's location at the heart of a substantial commercial, trade and tourism hub make the Exhibition Centre an attractive venue. As Mr. Al Shamlan points out, "No Middle Eastern city is more than two hours' away by air and the heavily populated and industrialized eastern province of Saudi Arabia is a 40-minute drive across the causeway."
In addition, there is a wide choice of excellent four and five star hotels in the vicinity plus a modern international airport served by 35 airlines flying to 70 destinations worldwide.
A complete range of facilities within the centre provides services to both visitors and exhibitors. A restaurant, bank, post office, telecommunications centre, business centre, airline office, photographer, official contractor, first aid room, tourism bureau, document/visa clearing services office, "sundries" shop, television and video hire centre and a branch of the Bahrain Marketing and Promotions Office are open to the public during the Exhibition Centre hours.
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