Hi, this is great news, especially for SMEs and a step in the right direction for the reforms, enjoy:


Bahrain is slashing the cost and time it takes to open a new business. It is cutting Commercial Registration (CR) fees by more than BD6 million ($20 million) a year and slashing the amount of capital investors must have up-front.

A deadline of six weeks has been set to get the new measures in place, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro announced.

CR fees, which vary according to the type of business, will be replaced with a single flat fee.

'The ministry hopes to reduce total fees by more than BD6 million, a considerable saving to the business community,' Dr Fakhro told a Press conference, organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.

'The new decision will particularly help small- and medium-sized businesses, which make up more than 90 per cent of the total registered.

The new measures are part of economic reforms aimed at increasing per capita income by more than two fold to BD10,000 in 10 years, he said.

'The annual GDP (gross domestic product) growth is expected to increase from five per cent to nine per cent and annual productivity growth from 1.5 per cent to four per cent to five per cent during the same period,' said Dr Fakhro.

'Annual investments will be increased from 16pc to 25 per cent of the GDP, and employment growth from 3.7 per cent to 4pc to 5 per cent.'

Help is on the way for cash-strapped small and medium businesses in Bahrain.

The aim is to push aside one of the biggest obstacles hampering smaller companies - access to capital.

Now they are to get help from a high-powered new board, chaired by Bahrain Monetary Agency governor Rasheed Al Maraj.

It is formed specifically to open up access to capital for small and medium businesses.

The project has been launched under Bahrain's economic programme, initiated by Crown Prince, BDF Commander-in-Chief and Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

"The economic reform workshop held in February identified several barriers to growth and productivity in the Kingdom," Mr Maraj told a Press conference, organised by the EDB, at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa yesterday.

"Access to capital was identified as the top priority for improvement and a high-level board was therefore established to study the whole situation and come out with specific proposals."

Other members on the project board are Dr Zakaria Hejres, Nader Almoayyed, Abdulhakim Al Khayat, Saleh Hussain and Hani Al Maskati.

EDB chief executive officer Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa also addressed the Press conference, pledging EDB's full support for the board, which he said would stimulate the growth of businesses, especially the SMEs.

It has been decided to improve access to capital through different initiatives, said Mr Al Maraj.

"One of the prime goals will be to enhance the role of the Bahrain Development Bank (BDB)," he revealed.

"The bank's capital will be increased five-fold to BD50 million. Products and services offered by BDB will also be improved.

"BDB will adopt a new business model for the development of the country's strategic sectors."

Access to capital is not an issue facing major companies in Bahrain, said Mr Al Maraj.

"National companies like Bapco, Alba and GPIC as well as government-owned power projects have been able to secure loans worth $4 billion (BD1.5bn) over the past three to five years," he noted.

"SMEs do not enjoy such a privilege. The project board will, therefore, study new criteria for financing SMEs and thus enhancing the growth of this sector."

The board will also study measures to improve access to secured lending through the Corporate Credit Bureau (CCB), said Mr Al Maraj.

"Though the CCB was established recently in the private sector, with subscription from various banks, it has not started functioning," he added.

"It will be equipped with a database of bank transactions of all major corporate establishments.

"By studying the record of repayment of loans by corporates, the lending process could be further streamlined."

Plans are also underway to enhance competition in the banking sector, through non-exclusive banking, said Mr Al Maraj.

The board will complete its study shortly so that the project can be implemented by the fourth quarter of this year, he revealed.

Survey data presented at the economic reform workshop in February showed that 28 per cent of respondents placed access to capital as the top priority item for improvement.

Other priority sectors identified by the respondents were: infrastructure, 19pc; adequacy of laws and regulations, 16pc; access to land, 14pc; government interaction, 13pc and law enforcement and judicial system, 10pc.