Malaysian Businesses Encouraged To Look At Bahrain

By Farhana Poniman KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) – Malaysian businesses are being encouraged to expand to Bahrain, given the kingdom's attractive offerings such as zero corporate tax and use the country as a gateway for business investment opportunities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East as such, as well as the North Africa (MENA) region. Facilitating the entry of local businesses into Bahrain is the Malaysia Bahrain Economic Cooperation Council (MBECC). Chairman Ahmad Shahizan Abd Samad said in this regard, the council would help by holding seminars and trade missions. "MBECC, in partnership with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), will organise a seminar on doing business in Bahrain on Sept 20, as well as, take 25 local companies on a trade mission there from Nov 22-Dec 1,” he told Bernama. The MBECC was inaugurated on May 8 last year and officially launched on Aug 28 this year, witnessed by Ministry of International Trade and Industry Secretary-General, Isham Ishak. Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) ASEAN Regional Director, Melissa Ong said the operational costs of doing business in Bahrain is roughly 30-40 per cent cheaper in comparison with other Middle Eastern countries, given that it offers zero corporate tax and other incentives such as a labour fund called “Tamkeen”. “If you hire a local Bahrain worker, Tamkeen will fund the training and also help the company to ‘top up’ his salary,” she added. Ong said other attractive features about investing in Bahrain includes the tax regime, which is zero across the board, as well as, the possibility of it as a springboard to enter the GCC and the 414 million consumer market across MENA. She said among industries that offer huge potential for Malaysian businesses are halal, banking and finance, manufacturing, logistics and downstream oil and gas. Meanwhile, a local businessman who has been doing business in Bahrain since 2006, Syed Taha Syed Mohamed sees huge opportunity for local players to venture into the renewable energy sector there. The Group Executive Chairman for EAG Capital Sdn Bhd said he had established his company there in the field of renewable energy. “In our line, we work closely with the United Nations Development Programme and Bahrain's Electricity and Water Authority (EWA). We intend to bring more companies from Malaysia that are involved in renewable energy,” he added. -- BERNAMA