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Export Club highlights opportunities in Bahrain
The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce hosted its latest export club to discuss investment opportunities in Bahrain at its premises on 29 April.
In his opening remarks, Sir Roger Tomkys, ABCC Chairman and a former UK Ambassador to Bahrain, welcomed the distinguished line up of speakers and expressed his pleasure at seeing the event so very well attended.
The export club provided a clear view of the Bahrain market as it stands at the current time with speakers conveying an overwhelming positive message of an economy that remained stable, growing and open and largely untouched by the recent global financial turbulence.
Bahrain offered considerable opportunities for business in sectors ranging from IT, tourism, education and training, housing and construction materials, the export club was informed.
Chairing the event, Robin Lamb, who had served as UK Ambassador to Bahrain in 2003-2006, described the Kingdom as one of the most popular Gulf locations for British people to live and remarked on Bahrain’s thousands of years as a trading nation.
Robin Lamb thanked export club’s sponsor, Gulf Air, whose services for travellers were described in a short promotional film screened towards the end of the proceedings.
Yusuf Jameel, Deputy Head of Mission at the Bahrain Embassy in London, gave thanks on behalf of the Bahrain Ambassador to the ABCC for organising the prominent panel of speakers.
Mr Jameel briefly highlighted the main reasons why Bahrain was a “great place to do business” in the region. It was a major transit point in the Gulf with excellent links to neighbouring Saudi Arabia via the causeway which is soon to be joined by a causeway to Qatar.
All reputable global indicators suggest put Bahrain at the top in terms of economic freedom and as a leading growing financial centre. There are now over 400 financial institutions registered in the country, according to Steve Harrison, Executive Director for Business Development with the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
Nicholas Armour, the Director of UKTI’s International Group, said that he felt there was a real vibrancy in the Gulf today, as he found during his visit to the region in April with UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
Mr Armour echoed other speakers in praising the diverse and enduring strengths of UK-Bahrain relations, a fact which provided the firm foundations for future business relations.
The message to UK firms was that Bahrain was responsive to companies seeking to break into the market and it was not only a market open to “big brand” players but one that offered opportunities to SMEs as well.
Dr Ala Al-Yousuf, Chief Economist with Gulf Finance House, an Islamic investment bank, gave his personal perspective on prospects for Bahrain by pointing to its consistently high ratings and stability as a financial market that has not suffered the extremes of boom and bust common to other economies.
The speaker, a former economist with the IMF, gave credit to the Central Bank of Bahrain for maintaining a strict regulatory regime which had now shown that it serves the country well.
Finally, Chris Down, a senior associate with Norton Rose, gave a legal overview of business law in Bahrain and examined the key issues of setting up business, dispute resolution mechanisms and transparency in public procurement.
The process of setting up in Bahrain was quick and cheap and could be completed within a week, the audience was told. Other benefits were the country’s low tax regime and 100 percent foreign ownership in most sectors.
The adoption by Bahrain of a simple-to-use tender process offering a clear bidding procedure has been successful in boosting foreign investment.
A networking reception followed the presentations and discussion which allowed delegates to meet the speakers on a one-to-one basis.
