Bahrain courting investments from India in 5 sectors

Bengaluru: The Bahrain Economic Development Board's (EDB) is keen to see Indian investments in the country’s financial services, manufacturing, information and communication technology (ICT), logistics, and tourism.

Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Minister of Sustainable Development and Chief Executive of Bahrain EDB Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif and the board’s Chief, Business Development, Ali Al Mudaifa revealed that investments from India in the five sectors are already in advanced stages. Three of these are in manufacturing, renewable energy, and ICT and is worth a total of $16.65 million. 

These three projects include the third expansion of plastic product maker Chemco's production base in the West Asian country. The second is Bhageria Industries’ 11.40 MW solar project. The third company, an unnamed ICT firm, is setting up its regional headquarters in Bahrain.

Beyond this, a Chennai company in the field of advanced manufacturing and making electronic equipment is pitching an investment almost equivalent to that being made by the first three. The fifth one is in the sector of healthcare and is projected to be valued at over $50 million.

India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Bahrain has grown by 36.6 per cent between 2019 and 2023, adding an average of $102 million annually. The total FDI stock reached $1.52 billion in 2023.

India is amongst Bahrain’s top seven trading partners. There are 10,900 Indian companies and joint ventures registered in Bahrain. This number has grown over 60 per cent since 2019. There are 3.5 lakh Indian nationals in Bahrain, their largest expat community. 

The board’s officials emphasised the country’s reduced reliance on oil and gas as a primary contributor to its nominal GDP. This former key sector now contributes around 15.9 per cent and is surpassed by financial services at 16.7 per cent which makes the highest contribution to their economy.