Compared to other regional locations, Bahrain offers unique advantages in terms of operating costs, proximity to the market place, access and communication links, support infrastructure and quality of life.
This has led to an increasing number of international and regional companies setting their management, administration, sales and other service functions in Bahrain. Companies which have established a regional base include: Thomas Cook, Inchcape, American Express, Arab Banking Corporation, IBM, DHL, Digital, Crown Agents, Coca-Cola, Elopak, Brown and Root, Gulf International Bank, UPS, Investcorp, Arab Insurance Group, LM Ericsson, Reuters, Bechtel, Arab Financial Services, New Zealand Dairy & Meat Boards.
Many companies operate spare parts supply and distribution networks from the State, making use of the excellent air, road and sea connections.
Year round, Bahrain plays host to international seminars, conferences, training programs and agency events, attracting organizers and participants from all over the world. The country is also a major location for corporate hospitality, incentive breaks and business promotions as well as being the major Middle East destination for R and R; increasingly expatriates working in neighboring countries arrange for their families to reside in Bahrain and return at weekends and vacation times.
Stimulated by the development in the 1970's of the International Financial Center, professional services provide a strong environment of support for commercial organizations in Bahrain. Specialists include lawyers, accountants and auditors, management, marketing and public relations consultants, architectural, contracting and engineering practices as well as those services provided by bankers, insurers, laboratories, medical and education establishments, translators, news organizations and air express companies. The Country also hosts the international and regional arbitration center.
Bahrain's telecommunications system is among the most sophisticated in the world. It is the only country in the Gulf region having over 90 per cent of its network equipped with digital transmission. Services range from comprehensive IDD and mobile communications, to specialized features such as leased private circuits, database access and video conferencing.
The living and working environment in Bahrain is particularly attractive. Easy-going rules and the welcoming nature of the Bahrainis have made the country a popular posting. A wide choice of quality housing, relatively inexpensive consumer goods, excellent sports, social clubs and restaurants, pl us a good selection of international entertainment provide major attractions. English language TV (including BBC and CNN satellite services), radio and printed media are available to all.
Private educational establishments offer a variety of curricula for kindergarten to 18-years. Private and free state medical facilities are of international standard. Groceries are reasonably priced and there is a wide choice of foods with most major brands available.
Year-round sunny weather makes Bahrain an ideal spot for a healthy outdoor life.
There are places of worship for Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Parses and Bahais.
Visitors to Bahrain can obtain 72-hour transit visas or 7-day visit visas at the port of entry. Nationals of the GCC and the UK require no visa.
There are excellent purpose-built exhibition and conference facilities as well as well-appointed five star hotels which offer a wide choice of venues. The Bahrain International Exhibition Center covers a site of 20,000 square meters and can host public events of up to 8,000 people. It is just 5-10 minutes drive from central Manama and 15-20 minutes from the Bahrain-Saudi Causeway.
At the dawn of history, Bahrain was the center of an ancient civilization which flourished as a trading entrepot in the sea lanes of the Gulf. Today, it has retained this importance, prospering as a strategic service and distribution center for the Middle East.
Flight connections of over 400 regional services a week are complemented by a 25 kilometer, four lane causeway to Saudi Arabia. Major population centers of the Eastern Province are 1 1/2 hours drive, the Central Province is 4 hours away, Kuwait is 5 hours and the lower Gulf is reached in under a day by road. Bahrain is also the best located port for shipping between Shiraz, Dammam, Kuwait and the lower Gulf.
For this reason, the Country has developed as a gateway to the Middle East. Companies locating their staff in Bahrain enjoy the attractions of the relaxed life-style and the frequent regional transportation links. They use Bahrain's duty free areas as a central warehouse and re-distribution base, sourcing local assembly, packaging and consolidation services as required.
Bahrain government policies encourage and support the country's service and distribution activities.
100% foreign ownership is allowed, there are duty free storage and re-export facilities, no taxation and low rents, living and operating costs.
The country has developed as the Middle East's International Financial Centers, supported by a well developed industrial sector, excellent telecommunications and a skilled and educated local labor force.
Local and international organizations in the Gulf are keen to develop an indigenous workforce that is able to travel and operate in all parts of the region, entirely without restriction, offering cultural and linguistic advantages.
Bahrain has that large pool of labor, well-educated and fluent in English. The banking sector, key government utilities, private sector services and the professions are major employers of Bahrainis.
The country is also the center for regional training institutions in the financial, banking, telecommunications, computer, tourism, management and insurance fields as well as vocational training.
Operating costs in Bahrain are among the lowest found in any comparable business center, either regionally or internationally. Commercial property and residential rents are exceptionally competitive for good quality premises - typical office rents are between US $4 and US $10 per month per square meter. Utilities, telecommunications charges, transportation and regional air fares are among the lowest in the region.
Salaries compare well with international standards. Government figures show that average monthly salaries in 1991 ranged from US $600 in manufacturing to US $1,730 in the finance sector.
Other living costs also fare well by international comparison. The general consumer price index actually declined between the early 1980s and the early 1990s.
Bahrain's free zone regulations effectively cover the whole of the country and allow goods destined for re-export to be imported without duty.
This enables companies to maintain a single location in the Middle East for supply and distribution, linking with frequent regional scheduled aviation services, which employ more than 60 cargo flights a week to neighboring airports, the road links to Saudi Arabia or the excellent shipping services.
Duty free access to other GCC countries is possible from Bahrain. Exported local products should have a minimum 40% content added locally to qualify for duty free status.
Bahrain's key position as a transhipment center is based on its close geographic position to the major population centers of the coastal seaboard of both the Arabian and Iranian shores of the Gulf, and the hinterland of Saudi Arabia.
Its unrivalled regional air services and road I inks to Saudi Arabia via the four-lane highway enhance its importance as a center for services and distribution. The world's leading express delivery companies, DHL and UPS, and international airlines, freight forwarders and shipping lines have their regional centers in Bahrain.
Over 400 weekly passenger and cargo flights serve regional destinations from Bahrain International Airport, the most modern terminal in the region.
A new US $185 million sea port complex, designed to handle the new generation of high speed container vessels, will be completed by the mid-1990s. It will supplement the Mina Sulman world class maritime port, which provides a fully integrated, cost effective cargo handling service. In 1990, 14% of throughput at Mina Sulman consisted of exports.
Bahrain has a mature and clearly defined legal system which offers a supportive environment to private sector enterprise
Commercial Goods
No tax or duty is payable for the following
Personal Goods
Duty free allowance for people entering Bahrain is 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars, a half-pound of tobacco, two bottles of spirits (non-Muslims only) and 8 oz of perfume. Personal and used goods, sales samples and gifts under US $130-value are exempt.
Duty free access to neighboring GCC countries is possible from Bahrain while unification of customs tariffs is under preparation.
Further information on establishment of a regional head office, service center or distribution operation is available from the following authorities:
Ministry of Commerce & Agriculture
PO Box 5479
Manama
BAHRAIN
Telephone (973) 531531
Fax (973) 530455
Registration, Insurance, Joint Ventures, Foreign Trade, Exhibitions
Ministry of Finance & National Economy
Capital Markets and Financial Sector Development Unit
PO Box 333
Manama
BAHRAIN
Telephone (973) 262400
Fax (973) 275944
International Financial Center
Ministry of Development & Industry
PO Box 1435
Manama
BAHRAIN
Telephone (973) 291511
Fax (973) 290302
Industrial Development, Oil, Industrial Areas, Civil Aviation
