The Kingdom jumped 17 places since 2006, and is the only Gulf nation to register an upward trend. The annual report measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of the countries are supportive of economic freedom.
Ratings of Bahrain's regulatory environment as a whole improved, climbing 29 places to 5th best of the 141 global economies surveyed in the Index. The area of regulation took into consideration Credit Market Regulation, Labour Market Regulation and Business Regulation. Bahrain's strong position in the index further emphasises the findings of the Heritage Foundation's 2009 Index of Economic Freedom which earlier this year found Bahrain to be the 16th freest economy worldwide and the only country from the Middle East and North Africa region (Mena) to feature in the top 20 worldwide.
Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), said, "In Bahrain our tried and tested regulatory environment and commitment to international standards have long offered an attractive business environment, particularly to companies looking to access the growing trillion dollar GCC market. Recent reforms, specifically in the areas of labour regulation, education and training, together with the continued investment in Bahrainis, ensure that companies in Bahrain continue to benefit from our skilled and professional national workforce."
Recent reports highlighted Bahrain's strength in its openness and commitment towards commerce. Earlier this month Bahrain was ranked among the world's top 20 for 'ease of doing business' by the World Bank Group in its Doing Business 2010 report. The World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Global Competitiveness Report 2009-10 last week, highlighting significant improvements in the Kingdom especially with regard to the labour market, where Bahrain was ranked 35th out of the 133 countries reviewed, up 29 places from its previous ranking.
Shaikh Mohammed added, "The consensus of these independent reports is testament to the proven measures Bahrain has taken to encourage further private sector growth, economic diversification and to create better opportunities for Bahrainis, all goals of the Bahrain Vision 2030 and National Economic Strategy."
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Bahrain labour market regulation ranked world's best
- Bahrain: Wednesday, September 23 - 2009 at 15:00
- PRESS RELEASE
Bahrain has the world's best labour market regulations and is among the 20 freest economies according to the independent Economic Freedom of the World 2009 report published by the Fraser Institute, 17th September 2009.
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About The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB):The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is a dynamic public agency with an overall responsibility for formulating and overseeing the economic development strategy of Bahrain, and for creating the right climate to attract direct investment into the Kingdom.
The role of the Bahrain EDB is to provide leadership by uniting all of the Kingdom's shareholders through a unified vision, and to develop key strategies for growth. The Bahrain EDB also acts as a facilitator, helping all of Bahrain's stakeholders to understand and adopt the changes necessary for progress. In addition, the Bahrain EDB provides sound project management to ensure that all agreed reform initiatives are implemented in an effective and timely manner.
The Bahrain EDB is also responsible for attracting inward investment into Bahrain, and is focusing on six target economic sectors in which the Kingdom offers significant strengths. These are financial services, downstream industries, tourism, business services, logistics, and education and training.
More information on the Bahrain EDB is available at: www.bahrainedb.com
About The Economic Freedom of the World 2009 report:
The Economic Freedom of the World 2009 report is published by the Fraser Institute. According the Institute, economic freedom has been shown in numerous peer-reviewed studies to promote prosperity and other positive outcomes. It is a necessary condition for democratic development. It liberates people from dependence on government in a planned economy, and allows them to make their own economic and political choices. The annual report, Economic Freedom of the World, uses 42 distinct pieces of data to measure economic freedom in 141 nations.
The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property. Forty-two data points are used to construct a summary index and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five broad areas:
1 Size of Government: Expenditures, Taxes, and Enterprises;
2 Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights;
3 Access to Sound Money;
4 Freedom to Trade Internationally;
5 Regulation of Credit, Labour, and Business.
http://www.freetheworld.com/release.html
Further information:
Samia Yakub
Bahrain Economic Development Board
Tel: +973 17 589 891
Alisdair Haythornthwaite
Bell Pottinger
Tel: + 971 566 901 725
Posted by Siba Sami AmmariWednesday, September 23 - 2009 at 15:00 UAE local time (GMT+4)
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