Capital Governorate provide business for citizens and residents to promote the preservation and to achieve community partnership to deepen the sense of patriotism and the consolidation of national unity.
Why invest in Bahrain
(*) We regard foreign investment as key to our Economic Vision 2030 long-term plan for improving the competitiveness of our economy, creating skilled jobs for Bahrainis and enhancing living standards. For this reason, we are committed to building on our existing advantages, aiming to build the Middle East’s most attractive centre for business.
We offer businesses operating in the region five important advantages:
• Our position at the heart of the Gulf makes access to every market in the Middle East quick and efficient – by road, air and sea. By car, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s largest economy, is less than an hour’s drive away and Riyadh, its business hub, is a four hour drive. By plane, the United Arab Emirates is an hour flight and Qatar just 25 minutes; further, Bahrain is the home of Gulf Air, which has the largest regional network in the Gulf. In addition, following the opening of the Khalifa Bin Salman Port in April 2009, Bahrain has become a major regional trans-shipment centre.
• We are committed to maintaining the region’s most liberal business environment, with zero taxation for private companies, few indirect taxes for private enterprises and individuals, and free repatriation of capital. We are also the only country in the region offering 100% foreign ownership of business assets and real estate in most sectors. Finally, unlike any other Gulf country, Bahrain has a fully liberalised telecommunications sector. As a result, Bahrain is ranked the 18th most open economy worldwide by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal’s 2016 Index of Economic Freedom.
• Bahrain has a track record as a modern international business economy stretching back several decades. Our financial services sector has been thriving for 40 years and was recently judged the Gulf’s most sophisticated financial market (Source: 1).
• Our low costs are another important advantage. Basic costs such as rents for offices and industrial land are lower than elsewhere in the region. The combination of subsidies and privatisation in the utilities sectors, mean that electricity, gas and water costs are highly competitive. And with low living costs, wages are also highly competitive.
• Our workforce is the most educated and skilled in the Gulf. This means you can minimise spending on expatriate packages and build a long-term, sustainable local workforce. For example, Bahrainis comprise two thirds (65%) of the financial services workforce, according to the Central Bank of Bahrain.
(*) Source: www.bahrainedb.com
