_How competitive is Bahrain regionally?
International firms are attracted by Bahrain’s favourable business environment, which offers effective regulations, lack of Free Zone restrictions, alongside a favourable tax regime. The below graph highlights the competitiveness of doing business in Bahrain, where in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings Bahrain ranks 62nd out of 190 countries, up from 66th in 2018.
Bahrain’s trading across borders and protecting minority investors scores have also improved over the last year. Starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, trading across borders and getting electricity are all areas in which Bahrain scored well. With the broad range of reforms enacted in 2018, we expect Bahrain’s ranking to continue its ascent
The main areas where Bahrain must continue to develop in the future are the areas of resolving insolvency, getting credit and enforcing contracts – the World Bank has highlighted that performance in most of these areas has already begun to improve since 2016.
The introduction of VAT is likely to increase the rate of inflation, however we do not expect this to be a substantial increase given the relative consumer friendliness of the VAT regime in Bahrain compared to other GCC nations.
Finally, the island is a firm favourite with expats, with the Expat Insider’s 2018 survey ranking it as the best place to live and work for the second year in a row.
For more information on the Bahrain commercial and hospitality market, read the Knight Frank report here:
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