‘We Want To Emulate India In Venture Funding'

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive, EDB spoke to Roy Varghese on the sidelines of the recently concluded GCC Financial Forum 2017, Manama, Bahrain about the 10 year-old quasi agency and its way forward. Excerpts:

- Roy Varghese

What is EDB’s role in boosting the economy of Bahrain?

We focus on several economic sectors which capitalise on Bahrain’s competitive advantages and provide significant investment opportunities. These sectors include financial services, professional services, manufacturing, ICT, logistics and transport. The financial service sector comprises approximately one-quarter of the GDP. Therefore, the EDB works to support the continued growth of the banking industry and key sub-sectors, including Islamic finance, insurance, re-insurance, asset management and wealth management.

We (EDB) also played a pivotal role in a number of important recent initiatives. These include establishing the Gulf’s first Free Trade Agreement with the United States, Bahrain’s hosting of the Middle East’s first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix, bringing about the privatisation law, particularly in power generation which started the process of the Government shifting from operator to eventually being a regulator, as well as becoming the first country in the Arab world to fully liberalise its telecom industry. Bahrain boasts unrivalled access to the markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, along with the wider MENA region.

What are your areas of focus now and reasons for that?