FDI inflows to Bahrain grew 114% in 2017, according to data released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the fastest growth rate in the GCC. The rapid growth came in spite of a drop in global FDI of 23%.

Growth in investment was supported by a number of major economic reforms in recent years - with UNCTAD citing Bahrain's amendments to its commercial companies law allowing 100% foreign ownership in additional sectors as an example of liberalisation supporting FDI growth. This has continued into 2018 with several significant developments in the first half of the year.

"Foreign direct investment creates jobs, diversifies the economy and fuels growth - so we are delighted to see such strong momentum, even against a challenging global backdrop. This proves the growing interest in the GCC opportunity is translating into investment," said Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive, Bahrain EDB.

"We have undertaken a number of significant initiatives in the first half of this year to build on this success and we expect to announce a number of further measures in the coming months, helping investors to access the GCC opportunity."

Bahrain's reforms were also recognised as Site Selection magazine recently named Bahrain as the best place to invest in the Middle East and Africa per capita for the third year in a row.

The 'Best to Invest' rankings are determined by the level of capital investments in the country and performance on key international indices published by organisations such as the World Bank, WEF and UNDP. The rankings also saw Bahrain EDB included in the list of Top Investment Promotion Agencies for 2018, one of only four agencies from the region included.

As well as being among the leading locations to invest, Bahrain has also been ranked as the best place in the world for expatriates to live, reflecting the high quality of life on offer in the country. The InterNations Expat Insider rankings ranked the Kingdom as the top expat destination in the world - citing the welcoming environment and ease of settling in as key factors.

Among the most prominent developments in 2018 has been the growth of the Bahrain FinTech ecosystem, including the launch of Bahrain FinTech Bay, the largest fintech hub in MENA; the establishment of a $100m Fund of Funds to help fund start-ups across the Middle East; and a growing number of companies using the Central Bank of Bahrain's regulatory sandbox to develop new products and services.

These advances were reflected in the recent Global Startup Ecosystem Report, released by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Startup Genome, which included Bahrain in global 'ecosystems to watch' in both fintech and gaming. Bahrain was the only Arab country to be included in either list.

The Kingdom also saw a number of major announcements last month during Gateway Gulf Forum, which brought together over five hundred global investors and business leaders to explore ways of unlocking the opportunities being created by the economic transformation in the GCC. The event provided a direct route into accessing the GCC market by showcasing major investment-ready projects worth USD $18billion, with projects in the planning phase driving up the value of the project pipeline to USD $26 billion.

Among the announcements were the launch of the $1bn Bahrain Energy Fund, the first such fund in the GCC and which will be unique in providing institutional investors with access to local energy assets and the launch of Bahrain's first five star 'retreat' style destination by Al Sahel Resort Company, as part of the broader development of the country's tourism sector.

Further strengthening its leadership position in the region, Cleartrip, the leading mobile and online travel company in the Middle East and India, has come together with Flyin, Saudi Arabia'sleading OTA.

The partnership will benefit both Cleartrip and Flyin as they make strides to capitalize on the growing shift to online in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which is home to a large population of tech-savvy consumers and has among the highest levels of smartphone and internet penetration in the world. Together, the combined company will have over 60% market share throughout the Middle East.

This transaction, the largest in the travel space in MENA, will offer Cleartrip a wider outreach and a larger client base in a key market, providing economies of scale as well as enhanced competencies and regional knowledge. Cleartrip has recorded rapid growth year-on-year since the company launched its regional operations in 2012 to become the largest OTA in Middle East.

Stuart Crighton, Founder and CEO of Cleartrip, said, "We are pushing ahead with our ambitious expansion plans in the MENA region, and together with Flyin, we have reached a major milestone in our journey. The deal represents the culmination of our search for a strategic partner that has outstanding market association in Saudi Arabia and shares our business ethos and principles."

"Building on Saudi Arabia's evolving entrepreneurial ecosystem, Flyin has firmly established itself as the leading player in the Kingdom's online travel market. With its strong customer base and rich travel offerings, Flyin is the natural partner for us in the region. We will leverage each other's strengths to enhance product development and customer experience," added Crighton.

Abdullah Al Romaih, Founder of Flyin, commented: "We are embarking on a new journey to reinforce our leadership position in Saudi Arabia's online travel market. Bringing over a decade's international experience and industry-leading technologies and skills, Cleartrip will also help us to offer our customers new and enhanced travel experiences. We look forward to having Cleartrip continue to support the economic growth in the Kingdom, as well as the evolving travel needs of our customers."

Closely aligned with the Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, with a strong focus on building digital infrastructure and attracting foreign investment in local homegrown companies, the transaction opens up new avenues of growth opportunities for Flyin to further strengthen its standing in the Kingdom and expand its footprint globally. Furthermore, it will contribute to the development of the country's digital infrastructure and create employment opportunities for Saudi nationals.

The transaction will enable both companies to leverage new technologies, talents and business intelligence to strengthen their travel offerings to cater to a diverse global customer base.

Kanoo Travel Partners were honoured during its Ramadan Ghabga .

The event at the Kanoo Guest House in Mahooz was attended by senior management of Kanoo Travel, airline suppliers and General Sales Agents (GSAs).

“We are always keen to strengthen ties with our loyal partners who have been supportive of Kanoo Travel for years,” said Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group Board Director Nabeel Mohamed Kanoo.

“Our business is growing because of their cooperation and this gathering is our way of saying thank you to them.”

Kanoo Travel is a fully-owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group and operates a network of 70 IATA locations with a team of over 900 travel specialists across the region.

Kanoo Travel’s booth in the 2018 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai attracted over 1,000 visitors, ranging from small to mid-level agencies including existing customers.

Krystal Online, a new cloud-based travel technology owned and distributed by Kanoo Travel played a pivotal role in attracting the large number of visitors.

“Being in the 2018 Arabian Travel Market was an opportunity to strengthen relationships with our clients and to inform them about our latest technology, Krystal Online, which received a lot of attention from many travel agencies. It was also an opportunity to showcase our 81 years of history in the Travel Industry,” said Nabeel Khalid Kanoo, Board Director at YBA Kanoo Group.

The new technology allows travel agents to search and book from multiple global suppliers, over 500,000 hotels & car rentals worldwide, with dynamic content such as maps, photos, and videos through its travel affiliate network program.

“During the four days’ event, executives of renowned institutions such as Sabre, Amadeus, American Express, Emirates, Etihad, and Oman Air were introduced to Krystal online. We received a lot of positive feedback regarding the new technology and discussed several partnership proposals,” mentioned, Interim Executive General Manager of Kanoo Travel, Zaeem Gama.

The 2018 ATM also witnessed the signing of a strategic agreement between Kanoo Travel and Kalaam Telecom to enhance the service excellence of the call center hubs.

Kanoo Travel a fully owned business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group (YBA Kanoo) boasts a wide market presence with offices in Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, and the UK. It also prides itself in solely representing American Express Global Business Travel , one of the largest travel management companies globally.

Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrain government, has celebrated the opening of its BHD 7.6 million state-of-the-art carpark complex “The Terminal”. The opening ceremony was attended by key stakeholders including Edamah’s board of directors, investors, contractors and prospective tenants.

Strategically located in the vibrant fine dining “Block 338” – Adliya, the Terminal is carefully designed to provide a full-service solution for visitors to the busiest part of Adliya, bringing together dining, commercial outlets, and convenient smart parking all under one roof. The Terminal’s first two tenants will include a trademark of The Living Concepts Company, Maya Gold a new elevated concept of Maya la Chocolaterie. Maya has evolved into an artisan chocolate brand operating out of its home base in Bahrain and Dose an artisanal coffee shop and is an organic coffee shop in Bahrain established in Kuwait City. Dose owns and operates a chain of owned quick-service café in Kuwait and very soon all over GCC.  In addition, The Terminal provides visitors access to over 330 carparks and 10 outlets on a land area of 4,801 square meters.

In the next five years, Edamah aims to develop more than 1,000 carpark spaces all to be managed through the centralised smart software intended to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency and improve customer satisfaction. Through the auto pay machines, visitors to the terminal will be able to pay the carpark fees using cash, debit card, credit card, and mobile app. Edamah’s three-year project pipeline is worth around BHD 14 million and features developments, such as Sa’ada waterfront development  and a multi-storey carpark Salmaniya carpark amongst others.

HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of Edamah said: “Edamah has an ambitious five-year strategy which will contribute to Bahrain’s plans for robust investment in domestic infrastructure, supporting the national economy by enabling technological integration in architecture. Our future project portfolio will be enhancing existing projects in addition to new projects to be developed which will include industrial, retail, leisure and recreational projects utilising some of the most spectacular waterfront settings available in the Kingdom.

“During Q4 2017, the real estate sector grew by 7.6% due to high demand for residential, tourism and retail developments in the Kingdom. Edamah is seizing the opportunity by responding to this high demand, developing a diversified portfolio of commercially viable projects.”

In 2017, a new real estate law were put in-effect following consultation with the private sector in the Kingdom to specifically support growth in the sector. The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) was established to enable a robust, secure and sustainable environment that encourages regional and global investment.

Led by its non-oil sector, Bahrain has achieved strong economic momentum with forecasts suggesting this will continue into 2018 with a brighter outlook across the GCC 

Data published in the latest Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ) reveals that Bahrain’s real GDP grew by 3.9% in 2017, with the non-oil economy expanding by 5%, making it the fastest growing country in the GCC.

According to the quarterly report produced by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the pace of growth in the Kingdom ‘accelerated markedly’ in 2017 compared to 3.2% in 2016. This strong performance in the face of sluggish regional growth was driven by broad-based success across the highly-diversified non-oil private sector, led by tourism, a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects, and a record year for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Earlier this month, the IMF’s World Economic Outlook forecast that Bahrain’s economy would continue to be the fastest growing economy in the GCC in 2018, suggesting momentum is expecting to be maintained into the current year.

Regionally, the BEQ predicts a significantly brighter outlook for the GCC in 2018, with a pronounced pick-up expected as economic diversification and fiscal consolidation efforts transition to their next phase and create a broad revenue base across the non-oil economy. The region’s future outlook will be at the heart of the upcoming investor forum, Gateway Gulf, which will bring together investors and business leaders from around the world in Bahrain on 8-10 May to unlock growth opportunities across the GCC.

Speaking on the publication of the BEQ, Dr Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist, Bahrain EDB, commented: “Bahrain’s economic resilience aligns with broader regional and global trends in which we see more diversified economies tending to achieve faster growth. Region-wide, business confidence and growth momentum are set to benefit from a more benign outlook in the oil sector and we expect 2018 to mark an important milestone as the GCC’s makes the economic paradigm shift towards diversified private-sector led growth economies”.

Growth in Bahrain is being driven by a variety of strongly performing industries, led by tourism with the hotels and restaurants sector expanding by 9.5% in 2017, total visitor expenditure rising by 8.9% and the average length of stay increasing 2.5% to 2.82 days, in line with the government’s strategy to boost the sector and encourage longer stays from existing visitors. Other high performing sectors in 2017 included social and personal services (9.4%), led by private education and healthcare, trade (8.5%), real estate and professional services (5.5%) and financial services (5%). Additionally, the EDB attracted BHD 276 million of foreign direct investment into Bahrain in 2017, a record year for the organization. This represents an increase of 161% from 2016, and is expected to generate 2,800 jobs over the next three years.

The success of private sector industries across the Bahraini ecosystem supports the widespread recognition the Kingdom enjoys as a regional pioneer of economic diversification thanks to sustained efforts to improve the business and regulatory environment. This process continued apace in 2017, with data suggesting the oil and gas sector now accounts for only 18.4% of Bahrain’s real GDP, compared to 43.6% in 2000.

Despite the demonstrable success of economic diversification, oil and gas remains a strong component of Bahrain’s economy, with the Kingdom’s oil sector set to transition to an era of renewed growth. Therefore, the recent announcement that Bahrain has discovered its largest oil and natural gas repository since it began producing in 1932, is a significant boost to its future economic outlook. The 2,000 sq km Khalij al Bahrain field, which is expected to start production within the coming five years, is mainly composed of shale oil and natural gas in quantities that far exceed Bahrain’s current reserves, with a recent resource evaluation suggesting levels capable of supporting the long-term extraction of oil and gas.

Building on Bahrain’s strong economic platform highlighted by the latest BEQ figures, the EDB will bring together regional and global government, business and investment leaders next week at the first Gateway Gulf investor forum, hosted in Manama, Bahrain on 8-10 May. The exclusive invitation-only forum will deep-dive into growth opportunities across the GCC and showcase new investment-ready project across diverse industries including tourism, manufacturing, real estate, transport, energy, water and power.

Almost half of Saudi shoppers already have in mind purchases they want to make this Ramadan

Ramadan is set to provide a boost for Saudi retailers, with over a third (35%) of consumers believing that holy month has the best offers and is the best period for them to make all their purchases, new YouGov research reveals.

The data shows that two-thirds (66%) of people in the Emirate are “Ramadan shoppers” – those who make either planned or impulsive purchases during the month. Approaching half (48%) state that they already have certain purchases in mind that they want to make this Ramadan.

YouGov’s research finds that while consumers are on the look-out for promotions across a broad range of categories, many are focusing in on offers in certain specific areas. A majority are looking for deals in clothes (51%), while over four in ten (45%) are keen to find grocery and fresh produce bargains. Around a third are seeking mobile phone (36%), fashion accessory (34%), and beauty product (33%) bargains.

The study suggests that brands only really matter when it comes to big ticket Ramadan purchases. Around half pick look for specific brand offers for mobile devices (53%), cars (49%), and computers and laptops (49%), while four in ten seek out offers from big names in the digital camera (45%), beauty product (43%), household electronic (41%), and household appliance (40%) spaces.

Despite the growth in e-tailing over recent years, YouGov’s research shows that relatively few (16%) plan to only shop online during Ramadan. Instead, the majority plan to spend at least some of their shopping time either exclusively at the mall/in store (37%) or a combination of in-store and online (31%). Around one in six (16%) will shop wherever has the best promotions.

Yet despite this preference for physical stores, consumers may divert from their normal shopping behaviour during Ramadan. Four in ten (40%) will go to a different mall than usual if it either has good offers across its stores or if it has their preferred brands on sale. Fewer people (30%) state that they will go only to their preferred malls irrespective of the offers/promotions available.

The research shows that although a lot of shopping is done in-store, many customers get to know of offers through electronic channels. Around four in ten find out about promotions via social media ads (42%) and internet ads (40%), while a quarter (24%) hear through promotional emails/SMS from companies and brands. There is still a space for more traditional methods, however, with in-store adverts (38%), word-of-mouth (34%), and TV commercials (32%) influencing the choices of Ramadan shoppers.

Ramadan represents an enormous opportunity – both for retailers and customers. While it is fair to say that, on the whole, consumers want bargains, the key for shops – be they online or actual stores – is important to know what type of deals they are looking for and on what products. Our data shows that when it comes to Ramadan many people want offers and promotions on things like mobiles, clothes, and groceries. Shoppers in the Holy month also favour going to malls instead of going online. By understanding the mindset of the Ramadan shopper, retailers and advertisers can reach them more effectively.

Dubai Media Incorporation, represented by Dubai One channel, is to provide exclusive coverage of the ‘People Choice Awards Ceremony 2017’, broadcast live from Los Angeles. 

Sarah Al Jarman,  Dubai One Channel Manager, said: “Dubai One is always keen to cover the most important film festivals and events, both Arabic and international, and the channel is delighted to have the exclusive rights to broadcast and cover the People Choice Awards Ceremony 2017 from Los Angeles. Dubai One’s audience will have the chance to watch all the red carpet action unfold during the live ceremony on Thursday 19th January, starting from 6am Dubai time, and 2pm GMT. Viewers who are unable to catch the first show needn’t worry, as we will be broadcasting a re-run on Wednesday at 9pm Dubai time.”

Al Jarman added, “2017 is set to be an exciting year for Dubai One viewers, who will also have the chance to watch the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTA Awards.” 

During the ceremony, DMI’s digital media team will provide the latest technology needed to cover every single detail of the event, which is expected to be watched by millions across the world. To improve audience satisfaction, DMI has launched a new online channel (http://www.dcn.ae/Dubai1awardseason/default.asp) that will cover the awards in a creative and interactive approach , in addition to the live coverage on Dubai One online (http://www.dcn.ae/dubaione/), trending hashtags (#Dubai1AwardSeason and #Dubai1PCAs), and Dubai One Social Media channels. Smart phone users will have the chance to watch the ceremony by downloading Dubai One (Awaan) on Android or IOS, or visiting the website (http://www.awaan.ae/).

B4U Network announces the appointment of Media Marketing Network as sales representative to spear head media sales of B4U Aflam in KSA. The Managing Director, Edgard Jose Daher will be responsible for overseeing the channel’s sales and strategies into the highly competitive KSA market.

Given the strategic importance to KSA market, Media Marketing Network will primarily focus on growing channel’s portfolio of clients in KSA and deepening the relationship with existing clients, to further accelerate the sales of the channel.

“Our biggest growth opportunities are still ahead of us. We are excited to have someone with tremendous caliber and experience in market expansion to join the team. We are convinced that by shaping and refining our sales strategies, Media Marketing Network will play a key role in taking B4U Aflam’s market share to the next level” said Zeeshan Sajid Amin, Business Head, B4U Middle East.

Media Marketing Network has an intensive experience and remarkable track record in the region. Apart from B4U Aflam, MMNet is also representing Al Bedaya TV and Noon Kids channel on KSA.

About B4U Aflam:

B4U Aflam is one of the top 25 channels in KSA and has been labeled as one of the fastest growing channels in Pan Arab Space.

Global ad market is on course for 4.6% growth this year, up from 3.9% growth last year, according to ZenithOptimedia’s new Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, published today. Global advertising expenditure will total US$579bn in 2016, and will exceed US$600bn in 2017, reaching US$603bn by the end of the year.

The global economy faces clear challenges – such as the ongoing slowdown in China, and recession in Brazil and Russia; the humanitarian disaster originating in Syria; and uncertainty over the future of the European Union, notably continuing fragility in Greece and the possible departure of the UK. But advertisers’ confidence has remained largely unshaken, and our forecasts for global growth in 2016 have barely changed since we published our last forecasts in December (when we forecast 4.7% growth this year). There are three main reasons why we are optimistic about the prospects for global adspend growth: special events this year, rapid recovery from the markets most affected by the eurozone crisis, and the emergence of rapidly growing markets that are now opening up to international advertising.

Quadrennial to lift ad growth by US$6.1bn

In the short term, 2016 is a quadrennial year, when ad expenditure is boosted by the US presidential elections, the Summer Olympics and the UEFA football championship in Europe. We expect these events to add a net US$6.1bn to the global ad market in 2016 (US$3.2bn from the elections, US$2.0bn from the Olympics and US$0.9bn from the football). The quadrennial will therefore add 1.1 percentage points to this year’s growth rate for global advertising expenditure, which would otherwise be 3.5%.

Crisis-hit European markets now enjoying rapid recovery

In the medium term, most of the European ad markets that suffered the deepest cuts from the financial crisis and its aftermath are now enjoying sustained recovery and will expand rapidly over the next few years. Adspend in Ireland, Portugal and Spain adspend fell by a total 45% between 2007 and 2013. Adspend in these markets recovered by 8.9% in 2014, however, and 7.3% in 2015, and we forecast average growth of 6.7% a year to 2018. Other European markets that fell sharply during the crisis but are now growing at a rapid pace include Croatia (forecast to grow by 6.1% a year to 2018), Denmark (7.3%), Hungary (5.2%) and Romania (6.3%). Even Greece is expected to enjoy annual growth of 3.9%. These markets have room to growth rapidly for several years to come: after all, they have a lot of ground to make up.

ZenithOptimedia identifies Thirty Rising Media Markets with long-term potential for rapid growth

In the longer term, many smaller advertising markets are now opening up to international advertising, and have the potential to growth at double-digit rates for many years to come. ZenithOptimedia today also publishes a new report, called the Thirty Rising Media Markets, which looks at a selection of 30 up-and-coming markets for the first time. Our regular Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report surveys 81 key advertising markets across the world. For the Thirty Rising Media Markets we decided to look a bit further and identify advertising markets that are developing quickly and are starting to rival the scale of some of the established 81 markets. We estimate that advertising expenditure across these 30 markets totalled US$7.7bn in 2015.

These 30 markets vary widely in nature: in size of population, openness to international business, diversity of economic activities, productivity, and geographically – 16 of our markets are in Africa, seven in Asia, six in Latin America and one in the Middle East. What they share is that their economies are growing rapidly in the long run, and that their advertising markets are growing even faster. We forecast advertising expenditure in these 30 markets to grow at an average rate of 15% a year between 2015 and 2018 – more than three times faster than global average – and to increase by US$3.9bn (a sum equal to the current size of Sweden’s ad market) to US$11.6bn. Advertising accounted for 0.37% of GDP across these 30 markets in 2015, well below the global average of 0.70%, highlighting their long-term growth potential.

Internet will now overtake television next year

As usual, internet advertising is the main driver of global adspend growth. We expect internet advertising as a whole to grow at more than three times the global average rate this year – by 15.7%, driven by social media (31.9%), online video (22.4%) and paid search (15.7%). Internet advertising’s growth rate is slowing as it matures (it was 21.1% in 2014), but we expect it to remain in double digits for the rest of our forecast period. This sustained growth, combined with downgrades to television in Brazil in China, has led us to forecast internet advertising to overtake television advertising globally in 2017, a year earlier than we forecast back in December.

Mobile to contribute 92% of adspend growth

The great majority of new internet advertising is targeted at mobile devices, thanks to their widespread adoption and their ever-tighter integration into consumers’ daily lives. We forecast that mobile advertising expenditure will increase by US$64bn between 2015 and 2018, growing by 128% and accounting for 92% of new advertising dollars added to the global market over these years (not including those markets where we do not have a breakdown of advertising expenditure by medium).

“Rapid growth from countries that are relatively new to the international advertising market, combined with a resurgence of established markets that were damaged by the financial crisis, will keep the global ad market on track for healthy growth for at least the next few years,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at ZenithOptimedia.