In this blog post, Khalid Khan, the owner of www.legallyinvincible.com and a legal counsellor at SSA Legal in airfare, writes about why the Kingdom of Bahrain is a preferred destination for investors in the Middle East. The post analyses the key factors which makes the Kingdom of Bahrain the first choice of investors wishing to explore business opportunities in the Middle East.

There are a lot of big and small Indian businessmen in Bahrain, and it won’t be wrong to say that Indians are the biggest expats community in the small but beautiful and liberal, Kingdom of Bahrain. In my present role as a Legal Counsellor, I routinely interact with Indian businessmen who are desirous of starting a business in Bahrain. Therefore, I thought to share with people why Indian businessmen want to establish a business in Bahrain.

If you are an investor looking to invest in the Middle East but confused about the country you should choose then this article will help you clear your doubts and will make you choose Bahrain as your first preference. The reasons due to which I would open a business in Bahrain are discussed below.

Centrally Located

Bahrain is centrally located and is within an hour reach from almost all the countries of Middle East namely UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia which is the largest economy in GCC. Bahrain is the head quarter of Gulf Air and also boasts about Khalifa Bin Salman Port which is one of the regions charging hub. It’s also connected with Saudi Arabia by King Fahd Causeway which reduces the airfare.

Open Business Atmosphere

Bahrain has one of the most liberal business atmospheres and exempts the businesses from any kind of corporate taxes, and a very minimal amount of indirect tax is levied on privately owned businesses and individuals.

Foreigners can open some of the businesses owning 100% stake while few businesses require the foreigners to have a Bahraini partner with 51% stake. Interesting this is most GCC citizens, and American citizens most can own 100% stake.

Modern Economy

Bahrain is one of the most modern and open economies in MENA region. It was ranked 39 in Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum for 2015-2016 and 65 in ease of doing business.

Bahraini Dinar is one of the most valuable currency in the world after Kuwaiti Dinar and presently trades at 1 BHD= $2.65. The financial sector of Bahrain is renowned all over the world and continues to grow.

Low Cost of Operation

The cost of living in Bahrain is lowest in comparison with others in terms of basic constituent costs. The office rent and industrial space cost are comparatively lesser than other GCC countries. The low-cost is one of the reasons that many foreign investors and expats prefer it over other adjoining countries.

Prices for water, gas and electricity services, etc. are also less and quality is very high due to the entry of private sectors in the above fields which increases the competition.

Smart Workforce

Bahrain attracts a lot of able professionals from all around the world at very reasonable remuneration due to the low-cost of living which helps the business to flourish keeping the cost of operation low as compared to other countries.

Also, the Bahraini workforce is one of the most highly skilled in the GCC in view of their attainment, skills, and efficiency which help the investors reduce their dependency on foreign workforce and leads to cost saving.

If all that was not enough then considering the slump in oil prices the Kingdom of Bahrain has waived a lot of formalities to help the investors who are low on funds. The requirement of BHD 20,000 for setting up a W.L.L is no longer in practice, and one can start a business from as low as 2,000 BHD depending on the business activities. This requirement has been waived for other kinds of businesses too which makes Bahrain highly preferable country for investment.