Bahrain registers over 1,700 investment funds by Mid-2025

TDT | Manama

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

More than 1,700 investment funds were registered in Bahrain by mid-2025, most of them foreign. The figures point to the Kingdom’s continued role as a booking centre for cross-border fund activity.

Data from the Central Bank of Bahrain show that 1,733 funds had been licensed and recorded by the end of June. Of these, 60 were based locally. The rest, largely offshore, operate elsewhere but are registered in Bahrain under its financial laws.

Together, the registered funds held around 11.269 billion US dollars in net assets as of March 2025.

Foreign funds made up the bulk, with 1,673 entries showing a combined asset value of 6.858 billion dollars. These entities use Bahrain’s legal framework but are usually managed abroad.

Home-based funds were fewer in number. The local register included 51 public funds, with 27 following conventional models and 24 structured in line with Islamic finance. There were also 9 private funds, split between 5 conventional and 4 Islamic.

In total, there were 158 Islamic investment funds on the register, local and offshore combined. They managed just over 2 billion dollars, according to March data. The demand for this type of fund has remained steady, especially in regional markets.

The numbers suggest a diverse mix of fund structures and management types. Bahrain remains a familiar base for international and regional fund managers looking to serve both conventional and Islamic investors.