Real growth engine.

His Roya Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB) yesterday chaired the EDB board meeting held at EDB headquarters, at Bahrain Bay. During the meeting, HRH the Crown Prince highlighted the Kingdom’s achievements across all sectors, and stressed the importance of implementing various economic strategies in order to further advance sustainable development, in line with the Kingdom’s comprehensive development, led by HM the King.

HRH the Crown Prince emphasised that Bahraini citizens remain an integral part of Team Bahrain’s efforts, and highlighted the Kingdom’s commitment to providing quality opportunities for citizens in tandem with the growth of the national economy.  HRH the Crown Prince went on to note that the Kingdom’s economic competitiveness is centred around wide-ranging sustainable diversification efforts designed to enhance its business environment and create further investment opportunities.

Khalid Ebrahim Humaidan, Chief Executive of the EDB, then presented the latest economic indicators and developments regarding the performance of the Kingdom’s national economy. According to data issued by the International Monetary Fund: Real GDP increased by 2 per cent in 2019, non-oil growth increased by 2.2pc due to improved performance in sectors such as financial services and manufacturing and growth in the oil and gas sector increased by 1pc. Mr Humaidan went on to highlight the EDB’s success in attracting Foreign Direct Investment and creating quality opportunities in the local market. The EDB attracted 134 foreign companies into the Kingdom in 2019, resulting in a total direct investment of USD 835 million.

These investments are projected to create more than 6,000 job opportunities in the local market over the next three years. On this note, Mr Humaidan explained that companies from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, State of Kuwait, France, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and others have invested across the Kingdom’s various sectors, including hotels and restaurants, financial services, information communication technology (ICT), telecommunications, manufacturing and logistics, real estate, tourism, education and health sectors. Mr Humaidan remarked that each of these investments further enhance Bahrain’s economic diversification efforts. The presentation provided further insight into a number of other investment success stories from 2019.