Guys, this is of concen to all of us, pleas go through and let's discuss ways to improve Bahrain's revenues, or any possible cut back on expinditure ?

B.S, you will find in the article that Bahrains income comprises 70% of oil sales.


ساهم ارتفاع اسعار البترول في* ‬ان تسجل البحرين معدل نمو في* ‬اجمالي* ‬الناتج المحلي* ‬بلغ* ٨. ٦‬٪* ‬في* ‬عام *٣٠٠٢ ‬ومن المتوقع ان تسجل المعدل نفسه خلال *٤٠٠٢‬،* ‬الذي* ‬لم تنشر بياناته بعد* ‬غير ان حكومة البحرين على وعي* ‬بأهمية الاصلاحات الاقتصادية خاصة تنويع المصادر والتحرير الاقتصادي*. ‬
ويمثل البترول اكثر من *٠٧‬٪* ‬من عائدات الحكومة في* ‬البحرين حسب ما تقوله مجلة* »‬ميد*« ‬التي* ‬اشارت إلى فائض ميزانية في* ‬المنامة بلغ* ٦. ٣١ ‬مليون دينار في* ‬عام *٣٠٠٢‬،* ‬وتوقعت ان تسجل الفائض نفسه في* ‬ميزانية *٤٠٠٢. ‬
غير ان العام الماضي* ‬أيضا كان شاهداً* ‬على خطورة الاعتماد على البترول بدرجة كبيرة*. ‬




الاقتصاد البحريني* ‬يواجه تحديات كبيرة في* ‬الأعوام المقبلة


ساهم ارتفاع اسعار البترول في* ‬ان تسجل البحرين معدل نمو في* ‬اجمالي* ‬الناتج المحلي* ‬بلغ* ٨. ٦‬٪* ‬في* ‬عام *٣٠٠٢ ‬ومن المتوقع ان تسجل المعدل نفسه خلال *٤٠٠٢‬،* ‬الذي* ‬لم تنشر بياناته بعد* ‬غير ان حكومة البحرين على وعي* ‬بأهمية الاصلاحات الاقتصادية خاصة تنويع المصادر والتحرير الاقتصادي*. ‬
ويمثل البترول اكثر من *٠٧‬٪* ‬من عائدات الحكومة في* ‬البحرين حسب ما تقوله مجلة* »‬ميد*« ‬التي* ‬اشارت إلى فائض ميزانية في* ‬المنامة بلغ* ٦. ٣١ ‬مليون دينار في* ‬عام *٣٠٠٢‬،* ‬وتوقعت ان تسجل الفائض نفسه في* ‬ميزانية *٤٠٠٢. ‬
غير ان العام الماضي* ‬أيضا كان شاهداً* ‬على خطورة الاعتماد على البترول بدرجة كبيرة*. ‬
وتأتي* ‬غالبية عائدات الهيدروكربونات من حقل ابو سعفة الذي* ‬تشترك فيه البحرين مع السعودية وكان المتوقع ان تحصل المنامة العام الماضي* ‬على عائدات اكبر من توسعة طاقة انتاج حقل ابو سعفة،* ‬غير ان هذا لم* ‬يحدث*. ‬
وتبذل الحكومة جهودا مضنية لتشجيع الاستثمارات الأجنبية وتخصيص قطاعات في* ‬الاقتصاد كانت مقصورة على الدولة فقط من قبل،* ‬ويواجه مجلس التنمية الاقتصادية الذي* ‬تم تشكيله عام *٢٠٠٢ ‬هذه المهمة برئاسة صاحب السمو الشيخ سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة ولي* ‬العهد*. ‬
وفي* ‬الوقت الذي* ‬تتمتع فيه البحرين باكبر قدر من التنوع الاقتصادي* ‬بين دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي،* ‬فان تناقص البترول وارتفاع معدلات البطالة تشكل ضغوطا عليها*. ‬
وتعتبر الخدمات المالية نقطة قوة في* ‬الدولة وتحاول البحرين ان تشكل مركز المصارف والمال في* ‬الخليج خاصة البنوك الاسلامية وشركات التأمين،* ‬وقد بلغ* ‬اجمالي* ‬اصول البنوك العام الماضي* ٠٠٩٨١١ ‬مليون دولار مقابل *٠٠٩٠٠١ ‬مليون في* ‬العام السابق له*. ‬
وسجلت البنوك المحلية ارباحا طيبة في* ‬العام الماضي* ‬مما* ‬يعكس اقتصادا صحيا،* ‬وكان أقواها الأهلي* ‬المتحد وبنك البحرين الوطني* ‬وبنك البحرين والكويت*. ‬
ولابد أن* ‬يكون هناك ثمن لجهود جذب الاستثمارات الأجنبية وتوفير الوظائف،* ‬واعرب بعض المحللين عن مخاوف من ارتفاع الدين الخارجي* ‬للحكومة،* ‬حيث ارتفع من صفر الى أكثر من *٠٠١ ‬مليون دولار خلال سنوات قليلة*. ‬
وعلى المستوى الاقليمي* ‬يعتبر اداء بورصة البحرين متواضعا خلال العام الماضي* ‬وقد ارتفع مؤشرها بنسبة *١٣‬٪* ‬خلال العام *٤٠٠٢‬،* ‬مما* ‬يعكس ثقة المستثمرين فيها*. ‬وارتفعت القيمة السوقية لاجمالي* ‬اسهم البورصة الى *٠٠١٥ ‬مليون،* ‬مقابل *٠٠٨٤ ‬مليون دينار بحريني*. ‬وحجم التعاملات في* ‬البورصة ضعيف،* ‬لكن* ‬يحتمل ان* ‬يرتفع مع اول اكتتاب عام من ثماني* ‬سنوات لشركة البحرين للاتصالات اذا وافق مجلس الوزراء على ذلك*. ‬
ولا شك ان اقتصاد البحرين بوابة تحديات كبيرة في* ‬الأعوام المقبلة،* ‬لكن هناك اجماع بين المسؤولين عن ذكر امثلة لاقتصادات اخرى صغيرة تحولت الى قوى اقتصادية كبيرة والحق* ‬يقال ان المنامة لا تألو جهداً* ‬لمواجهة هذه التحديات*. ‬

Education and Health services should be free only for the needy.

I suggest a fee on those who get better salaries.

Also,,, humm maybe they should do same on E & Water!

I'm not soo sure i agree with your suggestions, in relation to eduacation and health...

But yeah, something needs to be done..I've been lately wondering what the government has in store, what plans it has for diversifying its income sources....The economy is fine, on the right track...Diversification in the economy is good, needs to speed up just a little bit, but i do think it'll be fine...However the government budget will take a serious hit, which will in turn have to negatively affect the economy if somethiing isn't done...I mean how many more years will our oil reserves last for?? (does anybody know) i'm guessing 10 if we're lucky....

For a while I thought maybe a VAT on all goods might be a good idea, like they do in soo many countries, i mean the government would make A HELL OF A LOT from such a comprehensive tax...but i don't think thats practical, since the neighboring countries are tax free...it'll adversely affect local businesses, and hence the economy...Ppl will go across the causeway to Saudi to buy any and all the expensive electeronics and stuff like that that they might need...Perhaps some other sort of a tax...This is a tough one...Very challanging problem...

The thing about oil revenues being 70% of the budget, how is that soo...i mean it seems like each article says something else...10% is a big difference...I've read in so many places like in the CIA World Fact Book that its 60% not 70%, and also in the ministry of Finance and National Economy's website, its 60%, not 70%...Whats up with that..such a significant descrepancy...

yes it's 60% that's what i read in one of the news paper some time ago

Education and Health services should be free only for the needy.

I suggest a fee on those who get better salaries.

Also,,, humm maybe they should do same on E & Water!


Education, Health, Electricity and Water are all free?!?! :eek2:

Wow, you guys are soo lucky! :)

Is electricity and water really free?! :?

Education, Health, Electricity and Water are all free?!?! :eek2:

Wow, you guys are soo lucky! :)

Electricity and Water aren't free, you have to pay for them, that would really hurt the economy if it was free.

I read this article this mornin.

As for the oil, 15 years max for it to dry up. Bahrain is the most diverse economy in the gulf and am sure we'll stand up properly. Thank God now the mentality of "Do now plan later" is dying out and ppl are really usin their brains. I mean the next decade will be very important and if the reforms are met properly, I can tell you confidently that Bahrain will become the Singapore of the mideast with a very strong economy (BD 10 billion is up for grabs and the per capita doubling). This all goes to how serious the implementations are and installing the proper mechanisms to overcome the difficulties. There might be a small hit to the economy but that will only lead to better results in the long term. The private sector needs to wake up and get of their chairs and start contributing more effectively rather than naggin like we're used too.

Education, Health, Electricity and Water are all free?!?! :eek2:

Wow, you guys are soo lucky! :)

Dear Freedom,

Education, Health services are free in Bahrain.

E & W are highly supported by the government 70-80% of it is subsidised.

The thing about oil revenues being 70% of the budget, how is that soo...i mean it seems like each article says something else...10% is a big difference...I've read in so many places like in the CIA World Fact Book that its 60% not 70%, and also in the ministry of Finance and National Economy's website, its 60%, not 70%...Whats up with that..such a significant descrepancy...

I think 60-70% is around the same, maybe it varies year from year.

Any of the two would leave a big gap:(

...I mean how many more years will our oil reserves last for?? (does anybody know) i'm guessing 10 if we're lucky....

...


Yes 2015, i.e 10 years, they said so in the press days ago.

The problem is the population increasing,

Why do we need to get married twice or three times? why our ppl reproduce in about 4-6 ?? if lucky

I know ppl with 7-15 children!

We need a ban on reproduction !heheheeEE

Ya, true, but the whole shortsighted live for the moment, worry about the future later, attitude is still very very prevalent in the rest of the gulf, which is a bit disconcerting...I hope they snap out of it soon and start preparing for the future, even if its still early or whatever...I mean, except for like Dubai, the rest of the gulf doesn't seem to be at all bothered with diversifying it's economy...

And yeah, i love Singapore...don't really know that much about it, but what i do know really makes me want to like give it a standing ovation or something, lol :tongue3: It's really amazing how such a small country can have such a strong economy..

Singapore should be like Bahrain's role model..I mean we have a lot in common already; our size, certain aspects (industries) of our economies...We should strive to have even more in common, become even more like them....

yes singapore is an amazing place and the amount of regional influence coming from that tiny island is unbelivable. Definetly a role model for development in Bahrain.

They had this plan, becoming singapore of M.E, but never achieved this status, I think this is the best time for it. In need and position to be so.

The problem with Bahrain was that in the 90's thing didn't go as planned at all thanks to some ppl who screwed the country for years and that decade was wasted. Now it's time to make up for that lost decade within this. The new reforms set Singapore and Ireland as a benchmark to achieve and even pass if things go smoothly and as planned. We'll c what happens, inshalla 5air.