ArchivesTag : report
Bahrain spurred into economic change
Bahrain’s crown prince aims to revive the country’s stalled economic reform process following a public warning from his father, King Hamad, that government officials resisting change will be swept aside. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has since 1999 helped implement sweeping political and constitutional changes centred on raising living standards, by rooting out institutionalised corruption, [...]
Full StoryExporting Experience
As the pioneer of Islamic banking, it was fitting that Bahrain played host to the recently concluded 14th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference, held in Manama on December 9 and 10. The two-day event attracted more than 1000 delegates from 35 countries, well up on the 300 to 400 who attended the same conference five [...]
Full StoryEmployment Swings
While other Gulf states have been enacting policies to reduce the numbers of foreign workers in the labour force, Bahrain has announced it intends to go down a different path, easing restrictions on hiring employees from overseas. As of July 1 next year, a new quota system will come into force, reducing the percentage of [...]
Full StoryRefinery Upgrade
Bahrain is planning to consolidate its place at the centre of the Gulf region’s oil refining industry, unveiling a series of large investments to boost production capacity and the flow of crude into the country. On November 19, Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza, Bahrain’s oil and gas minister and head of the National Authority for Oil [...]
Full StoryClean Hands
Bahrain has moved fast to polish up an image somewhat tarnished by a recent report suggesting corruption was on the rise in the kingdom. The latest study on the rates of perceptions of corruption in countries around the globe conducted by Transparency International (TI) said the levels in Bahrain have significantly worsened over the past [...]
Full StoryGas and Hot Air
Manama and Tehran are edging closer to an agreement that will see Iran become a major supplier of natural gas to Bahrain, helping to fuel the country’s programme of industrial expansion and diversification. If all goes according to plan, Bahrain could be receiving shipments of Iranian natural gas as early as 2012, via a pipeline [...]
Full StoryStreamlining Oil and Gas
In a bid to consolidate its oil and natural gas industry, Bahrain has announced the establishment of a single company to co-ordinate the kingdom’s energy. On August 1, Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, minister for oil and gas affairs, announced that an agreement had been signed to set up the Holding Company for Oil and [...]
Full StoryShake-up over woman’s death
Ambulances will now be dispatched immediately from the Salmaniya Medical Complex to attend to emergency cases, without necessarily waiting for the exact location to be confirmed, it was revealed yesterday. New guidelines will ensure that emergency medical aid is sent “within seconds” to the “approximate” location even though the exact location has not been confirmed, [...]
Full StoryBanking Gets Bigger
The banking sector in Bahrain and the Gulf region received a major boost in late July, with the official launch of Investment Dar Bank, established to fill what its investors see as a gap in the Islamic banking market in the Middle East. On July 26, Investment Dar Bank was formally presented to the public [...]
Full StoryHigh Flying Aviation Sector
Bahrain’s assistant under secretary for aviation services, Ahmed Nemat Ali, announced late June that the kingdom could soon have the region’s first refitting and maintenance facility for executive luxury jets. Ali added that such an idea made sense in light of the fact that there are already around 350 such jets of various sizes in [...]
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