FDI inflow to Bahrain remains high: UNCTAD

Manama Levels of inward FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in Bahrain remained robust in recent years, and remained at a similar level in 2014 as in 2013, nearing $1 billion, according to the World Investment Report 2015 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). During 2014, Bahrain attracted $957 million in FDI, when compared to the FDI inflow of $989m in 2013. 

As a percentage of GDP (55.4 per cent), Bahrain’s inward FDI stocks reached $18.8bn in 2014, and this percentage remained the highest in the GCC and well above the global average, emphasising Bahrain’s position as one of the region’s most open economies, the report added. 

This came as Bahrain hosted yesterday the regional launch of United Nations Conference of Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report, 2015, where Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) gave an opening statement. 

He was joined by Mohamed Chiraz Bali, representing the Division of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, who presented the findings of the report to representatives from the private and public sectors, as well as the media along with Dr. Zakaria Ahmed Hejres, Chairman of the MENA Centre for Investment. The event was hosted in cooperation with the Bahrain EDB and the MENA Centre for Investment.

Khalid Al Rumaihi said: “There is no doubt that the region, and wider world, still faces a challenging economic climate, as businesses and governments continue to recover from the economic shock of 2008 as well as the current oil price environment, as illustrated by the  investment flows outlined in this year’s World Investment Report.”

“However there are a number of structural drivers which give cause for a more optimistic long-term outlook in the region, including connectivity, increasing economic integration, and the demographic dynamics.”

Al Rumaihi also thanked UNCTAD for their efforts in preparing the global report, and highlighted that it has become an invaluable tool for policy makers. 

The report says that the shift towards FDI in services related sectors continued, due to increasing liberalisation and tradability of services, as well as the growth of global value chains in which services play an important role. FDI into West Asia, which covers a number of countries in  the MENA region including the GCC members, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, also fell by 4pc to $43 billion, reflecting the global economic issues and ongoing security risks. Turkey remained the largest FDI recipient in the West Asia region, whilst investment into the GCC remained “sluggish” despite continuing robust economic growth.