'Bahrain most competitive in ease of doing business'

Muscat: Bahrain has the most liberalised and competitive Information and Technology (IT) sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, according to a recent KPMG report.
Bahrain also leads on most indicators for the cost of doing business in the region – a market worth US$1.5 trillion—the KPMG report titled "The Cost of Doing Business in the GCC" in the ICT sector, added.
Crucially, the report revealed that Bahrain has lower costs than any other GCC country for cross-border internet connectivity, a critical metric for an ICT hub.
The report also found the average cost of living to be significantly lower in Bahrain than the GCC average.
Overall, the total average cost of operating in Bahrain for ICT dependent enterprises was 16 per cent less than the GCC’s average, and the total average cost of living was 23 per cent lower.
Key findings from the report included that the average annual cost of operation for cross-border internet connectivity in Bahrain was $126,000, compared to the average for the GCC, which was $233,400.
Commercial rental costs for office space in Bahrain are lower compared to other GCC countries –$43,800 for Bahrain compared to an average of $86,480 for the GCC region.
Overall, commercial utility costs (electricity and water, internet and telephone services) in Bahrain are 25 per cent lower compared to the average GCC utility costs.
These statistics further substantiate Bahrain’s ambition in addressing the needs of overseas investors and enterprises looking to take advantage of advanced digital business infrastructures, free from stringent regulations.
Recent policy reforms have been introduced to enable start-ups to test, innovate and scale quickly, establishing Bahrain as a fast growing, highly-connected business hub with accessibility at its core.
Examples include improvements to the regulatory environment, such as updating the bankruptcy law, introducing the data protection law, adopting a cloud-first policy, and reducing the minimum capital requirements for starting a business. All of the above are important steps the government has taken to enable a thriving digital economy.
“Our liberal and advanced ICT infrastructure, supported by a strong track record of reform and deregulation, has ensured Bahrain is consistently positioned at the top of global ICT readiness indices, including being ranked first in MENA by the ICT Development Index,” said Dr Simon Galpin, Managing Director, Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).
“Our cloud-first commitment and the launch of the Middle East’s first hyper scale data centre by AWS will further advance our ICT readiness, opening up new sectors, increasing productivity and enabling businesses of all sizes to scale faster at a lower cost. This recent report from KPMG is a testament to our innovative and progressive approach,” he added.