Doing Business 2010: Bahrain & Saudi Arabia in Top 20 Global Economies

posted on: Sep 15, 2009

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia both maintain their position as the only two nations from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to feature in the world’s top 20, leading the way in the Gulf and MENA for regulations that enhance business activity. MENA itself picked up the pace for business regulatory reform faster than any other region in a year of global financial uncertainty, with 17 of 19 economies passing regulatory reforms to create opportunity for domestic entrepreneurs.

Kamal Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), said: “Bahrain’s consistently high ranking on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index shows that our tried and tested regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business. It is the result of prudent domestic measures taken to strengthen our long term prosperity and a commitment to creating an attractive business environment for international companies looking to access the growing markets of the Gulf – already approaching one trillion dollars.”

The Doing Business 2010 report ‘Reforming through Difficult Times’ is the seventh in a series of annual reports investigating and comparing business regulations and their enforcement across 183 economies worldwide. Regulations affecting 10 stages of a business’s life cycle are measured to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, and why. Bahrain was ranked among the top 25 global economies on a number of measures:
· Dealing with construction permits: 14th (first in MENA)
· Employing workers: 13th (first in MENA)
· Registering property: 22nd
· Paying taxes: 13th

Other aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors, such as an economy’s quality of infrastructure and macroeconomic conditions, are not studied directly by the Doing Business report. However, a report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) earlier this week ranked Bahrain’s macroeconomic environment as the fifth most stable worldwide (up from 20 in 2008). The WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2009-10 also highlighted significant improvements in the Kingdom’s healthcare, education, training and labour market practices, together with its strong infrastructure which has been boosted by new developments such as the Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ) and Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP).

Bahrain has taken a number of measures designed to preserve and grow the prosperity that the Kingdom has nurtured for many years, including prudent financial policies, long term strategy of diversification and a commitment to the highest international standards. This approach is now enshrined in Bahrain’s Vision 2030 and National Economic Strategy, committed to maintaining the optimum business environment that will attract foreign investment and ultimately elevate national living standards by creating greater opportunities for Bahrainis.

The World Bank’s Doing Business report is the latest in a number of independent indices to rank Bahrain highly. The Kingdom is the freest economy in the Middle East according to the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal’s 2009 Index of Economic Freedom and 16th in the world – the only country in the MENA region to appear in the world’s top 20. In March, Forbes ranked Bahrain the best country for business in the Gulf and 33rd of 127 economies worldwide in its Best Centres for Business 2009 report.

George Haddad
Global Arab Network