Industry
From The Report: Bahrain 2015
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Industry in Bahrain continues to grow as increasingly low borrowing rates, particularly for manufacturing, demonstrate banks’ willingness to finance projects in the sector. Bahrain’s manufacturing sector accounts for 15% of GDP making it the country’s third-largest economic contributor after hydrocarbons and financial services, and is expected to reach 20% of GDP within the next decade. The sector is dominated by basic metals, refined petroleum products and chemical products, and in 2012 employed 13% of the total workforce in the kingdom. Bahrain is home to the sixth-largest aluminium smelter in the world, which has encouraged the clustering of several downstream businesses, while the kingdom’s burgeoning pharmaceuticals sector was worth $260m in 2012 and is expected to rise by a compound annual growth rate of 10.1% to 2017.

This chapter contains interviews with HE Dr Hassan Fakhro, Advisor to the King for Economic Affairs; and Tim Murray, CEO, ALBA.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Bahrain’s non-oil manufacturing benefits from low energy costs, FTAs and a prime location
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Industrial investment in Bahrain has traditionally been driven by the government, which has sought to develop national champions that can then expand abroad. One of these, Aluminium Bahrain, a smelting company in which the state holds a 77% stake, is not just one of the world’s top 10 producers of the metal; it has also become a household name, Alba, achieving a degree of name recognition usually reserved for the region’s large oil companies. Yet increasingly – and in line with Economic Vision…

Interview

HE Dr Hassan Fakhro, Advisor to the King for Economic Affairs: Interview
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Interview:Dr Hassan Fakhro What does the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement to simplify and harmonise global trade procedures mean for the GCC and Bahrain? DR HASSAN FAKHRO: Economic forecasts indicate that the impact of the WTO’s trade facilitation agreement to speed up and streamline customs procedures will significantly boost the global economy. Some maintain that it is worth up to $1trn per year, with the capacity to generate up to 21m jobs across the developed and developing…

Analysis

Bahrain’s pharmaceuticals industry takes new strides
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Along with finance, tourism and telecoms, the pharmaceuticals industry is one sector that the Bahraini government is keen to develop as part of a broader shift towards an economy less centred on oil. Perhaps the most visible symbol of this is the ongoing $1.6bn Dilmunia Health Island, which, when completed, is meant to turn Bahrain into one of the premier medical tourism destinations in the GCC and wider Middle East. For the industrial sector, such developments are driving new investments in pharmaceuticals…

Analysis

Incentives provided by Bahrain’s special economic zones draw a range of tenants
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In 2010, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa inaugurated the Salman Industrial City designed to attract foreign direct investment into Bahrain. Four years later, the city includes three separate industrial areas and a logistics centre, and has succeeded in attracting dozens of new businesses to the country. Located near the community of Al Hidd, its three main parts consist of the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP), the Bahrain Investment Wharf (BIW) and the Al Hidd Industrial Zone. Built with…

Interview

Tim Murray, CEO, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba): Interview
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Interview:Tim Murray What strategies is Alba pursuing to develop and enable downstream businesses and sub-sectors? TIM MURRAY: For the last couple of years, we have been able to gradually increase our production capacity by an average of 1% year-on-year without making any significant capital investment. The introduction of Alba’s sixth production line is expected to add around 400,000 metric tonnes to our existing capacity, bringing Alba’s total production capacity to 1.3m tonnes a year. The…