Bahrain boosts ties with China

Manama : Senior business leaders from Bahrain and China signed a number of agreements yesterday on the side lines of the Bahrain-Shenzhen Business Forum held in Shenzhen. 

The business forum saw the signing of three MoUs between The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Chinese businesses and trade organisations, helping to fortify economic and trade ties between the two nations. 

Besides, Chinamex Bahrain and China Handicraft Art Work Committee signed an agreement to hold a Chinese cultural products exhibition in Bahrain Dragon City in December 2017. 

The delegation is led by Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al-Khalifa, the Capital Governor and EDB Chief Executive,  Khalid Al Rumaihi. 

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the EDB, commented on the visit: “With an affluent and tech-savvy population, Bahrain is an attractive hub for start-ups and presents a strong opportunity for Chinese businesses looking to expand overseas. 

“We have put in place a number of funding and support networks to help businesses from China and elsewhere enter the Middle East region for the first time – this is just one of the ways Bahrain is supporting China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ policy.”

The agreements

• Invest Shenzhen, a governmental body signed a deal with the EDB to work more closely on investment practices and policies to further strengthen trade between the Chinese and Bahrain markets

• Shenzhen Capital Group Co. Ltd., a venture capital company in Shenzhen, signed a deal where the EDB will work to help provide more entrepreneurship opportunities for businesses in China and Bahrain 

• BYD Auto Industry Company Limited, a Chinese company which specialises in four industries (IT, automobile, new energy and rail transit) is looking to work with the EDB to establish a regional manufacturing hub in Bahrain