Mirrored: 17th of May 2010, 08:08 Original: www.forbes.com Views: 56 Settings: Loading the mirror...
Home Business Tech Markets Entrepreneurs Leadership Personal Finance ForbesLife Lists Opinions Video Blogs E-mail Newsletters People Tracker Portfolio Tracker Special Reports Commerce Energy Health Care Logistics Manufacturing Media Services Technology Wall Street Washington CIO Network Enterprise Tech Infoimaging Internet Infrastructure Internet Personal Tech Sciences Security Wireless Bonds Commodities Currencies Economy Emerging Markets Equities Options Finance Human Resources Law & Taxation Sales & Marketing Management Technology Careers Compensation Corporate Citizenship Corporate Governance Managing Innovation CEO Network Reference ETFs Guru Insights Investing Ideas Investor Education Mutual Funds Philanthropy Retirement & College Taxes & Estates Collecting Health Real Estate Sports Style Travel Vehicles Wine & Food 100 Top Celebrities 400 Richest Americans Largest Private Cos World's Richest People All Forbes Lists Business Opinions Investing Technology Opinions Washington & The World Companies People Reference Technology Companies Events People Reference Companies People Companies Events People Reference Companies Events People Reference Best Countries for Business #33 Bahrain 03.18.09, 06:00 PM EST Previous: South Africa Next: Jordan Rank vs. 2008 Hasan Jamali/AP Photo Trade Freedom 64 Monetary Freedom 74 Rank-previous year NR Property Rights 42 GDP Growth 7.0% Innovation 71 GDP/Capita $37,200 Technology 35 Trade Balance 13.2% Red Tape 22 Population 0.7 mil Investor 15 Federal Budget Balance as % Protection of GDP 5.3% Corruption 36 Personal Freedom 104 Tax Burden 14 Market Performance 19 With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. Petroleum production and refining account for over 60% of Bahrain's export receipts, over 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP (exclusive of allied industries), underpinning Bahrain's strong economic growth in recent years. Aluminum is Bahrain's second major export after oil. Other major segments of Bahrain's economy are the financial and construction sectors. Bahrain is focused on Islamic banking and is competing on an international scale with Malaysia as a worldwide banking center. Bahrain is actively pursuing the diversification and privatization of its economy to reduce the country's dependence on oil. As part of this effort, in August 2006 Bahrain and the US implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between the US and a Gulf state. Continued strong growth hinges on Bahrain's ability to acquire new natural gas supplies as feedstock to support its expanding petrochemical and aluminum industries. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of oil and underground water resources are long-term economic problems. The global financial crisis is likely to result in slower economic growth for Bahrain during 2009 as tight international credit and a slowing global economy cause funding for many non-oil projects to dry up. Lower oil prices may also cause Bahrain's budget to slip back into deficit. Previous: South Africa Next: Jordan * Rank * Name * GDP Growth [IMG] * GDP/Capita * Trade Balance * Population * Federal Budget Balance as % of GDP All economic data for 2008. Market performance for 12 months to Feb 24. Rankings: 1 = best in category, = substantial improvement, = substantial deterioration. Sources: Heritage Foundation (Economic Freedom Index); World Economic Forum (Global Competitiveness Report); Transparency International (Corruption Perceptions Index); Freedom House (Personal Freedom Index); Deloitte (World Tax Rates); World Bank (Doing Business); Central Intelligence Agency (World Factbook); Property Rights Alliance (International Property Rights Index). Does The U.N. Really Matter? South Africa on Best Countries for Business (2009) Read All Comments Steve Forbes Intelligent Investing | Data | Knowledge | Insight | Wisdom Subscriptions * Subscribe To Newsletters * Subscriber Customer Service ADVERTISEMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IFrame -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________________ [ GO ] * Content Management Software * Email Marketing Software * Project Management Software * Accounting Software * eCommerce Software * Help Desk Software >> Browse All Directories -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEO Book Club Book Review The Other India image Book Review Taylor Rules David R. Henderson In a new book, economist John Taylor explains the cause of the crisis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------