Kingdom ‘eyeing more investments from China’

Bahrain is working towards attracting more investments from China, a senior Economic Development Board (EDB) official has said. Bahrain has seen a huge rise in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) attracted from around the world including China, and will have more initiatives in place to continue the trend, said Economic Development Board Managing Director Simon Galpin. He said that Chinese firms have taken note of Bahrain’s business-friendly policies and are increasingly showing interest.

He added that EDB would ensure Bahrain being an active participant in the Belt and Road Initiative, which is a development strategy adopted by the Chinese government. “We want to ensure that Bahrain is an active participant in this initiative. For us at the EDB, the perfect fit for the Belt and Road Initiative is the Gateway Gulf Initiative. “The Belt and Road Initiative is encouraging companies from China to invest in infrastructure across our region while the Gateway Gulf is attracting companies around the world including China to invest in infrastructure projects in Bahrain and the GCC,” he told Tribune.

“The value of FDI to Bahrain has grown very rapidly. We already have a record year in terms of investment and there has also been an increase in the number of companies coming here and the number of jobs that those companies have created in the Kingdom. “The key thing is to bring together owners and investors from Bahrain and China.”