Bahrain welcomes its ranking among the top 10 improvers in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 Report

Manama, Oct. 24 (BNA): The Minister of Finance and National Economy, HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, has welcomed the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report, which has placed Bahrain among the top 10 improvers globally and second among the Arab countries – an advancement of 19 ranks to 43 out of a total of 190 economies. HE the Minister noted that this year’s ranking is a direct result of Bahrain’s progress in accelerating investment-driven economic development, in line with the vision of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. HE the Minister congratulated HM the King on Bahrain’s achievements as outlined in the report, noting that global recognition of the Kingdom’s efforts bolsters development and promotion of competitiveness. HE the Minister also extended his congratulations to HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, stressing that the government was able to achieve major strides in its development under his leadership. HE the Minister went on to express his appreciation to HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, for the ongoing support extended by the Executive Committee under his chairmanship. HE the Minister highlighted that improvements in Bahrain’s business environment have been made possible by the Executive Authority, Legislative Authority, Judicial Authority, private sector, and NGOs, which together form Team Bahrain, as well as the introduction of new initiatives and upgrades to the Kingdom’s regulatory framework. In this regard, HE the Minister noted that Bahrain has enhanced its construction permit process through the launch of a new streamlined online platform, ‘Benayat,’ and in so doing has moved up the ranking 40 places to 17th globally for dealing with construction permits. HE the Minister also underlined Bahrain’s success in significantly simplifying property transfers, which now takes only two days, improving the Kingdom’s ranking by 9 places to 17th globally for registering a property. HE the Minister reaffirmed that the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) has reduced the overall time required to connect to the grid by 16 days, leading to an improvement of 10 ranks globally in the indicator for getting electricity. Later, HE the Minister highlighted the important role the latest technology has played in improving cross-border trade, noting that exports are a vital part of the country’s economy. HE the Minister concluded by noting that Bahrain has strengthened access to credit, which helped to improve the Kingdom’s position by 18 ranks globally. Moreover, Bahrain’s ranking improved by 69 places to 59th globally in enforcing contracts, as well as 33 places to 60th globally for resolving insolvency following the enactment of the Reorganisation and Bankruptcy Law.