Bahrain tops amongst GCC in anti-money laundering
Report commissioned by Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that the economic recovery path is on the right track.
The report shows that in Q2 2022, “The growth and GDP contribution of economic sectors where real GDP and nominal GDP increased by 6.95 pcs and 22.97 pcs, led by growth in the hotels, restaurants, and transport and communication sector and Manufacturing and Natural Gas sector is the highest contributor to GDP in Q2 2022 at 17.07%.
“ The trade exchange increased by 9 pcs between Bahrain and GCC in Q3 2022 compared to Q3 2021, whereas 29.5% increase in the volume of trade between Bahrain and Oman in Q3 2022 compared to Q3 2021.
“China maintains its position as Bahrain’s top import partner in Q3 with a total import value of 567 million USD. The top imported commodity was smartphones, with a total value of 33.7 million USD. This commodity accounts for 6% of total imports from China.
“Saudi Arabia has maintained its position as the largest export market for Bahraini commodities in Q3 2022, with the total value of exports reaching 792 million USD. The top exported commodity was agglomerated iron ores and concentrated at 229 million USD,” the study highlighted.
“The consumer price index increased by 4% in August 2022 compared to August 2021, with the most significant changes occurring during that time period being A 10.4% increase in the food and nonalcoholic beverages group, A 15.1% increase in the hotels and restaurants group, A 6.4% increase in the transportation group, and A 5.5% increase in the furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance group.
“The Restaurants and Hotels sector witnessed the highest increase in prices in August 2022 at 15.1%, compared to the same month in the previous year. The second highest sector with a y-o-y increase is Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, reaching 13.4%.
“The number of Bahrainis in the public and private sectors increased by 3.2% and 4.3% respectively in Q2 2022 compared to Q2 2021. The number of employed non-Bahrainis also increased by 8% in Q2 2022 compared to Q2 2021.
“Worker remittances are defined as payments made by migrant workers and residents of a country to relatives in their home country. Remittances to beneficiaries in their country of origin are classified as for more than a year, regardless of their legal status.
Remittances from workers increased by 4.5%, rising from 248.8 million BHD in Q2 2021 to 259.9 million BHD in Q2. “The outflow of worker remittances in the GCC amounted to about 127.2 billion USD in 2021, compared to about 116.5 billion USD in 2020, registering a growth of 9.2%.
This is after the total remittances declined over the last four years. “Interest rates on business loans increased in general during Q2 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The interest rate in the Manufacturing sector increased from 2.12% in Q2 2021 to 4.67% in the same period in 2022, “It also increased in the Trade Sector from 4.91% in Q2 2021 to 5.87% in Q2 2022.
The interest rate, however, decreased in the Construction and Real Estate Sector from 6.99% in Q2 2021 to 5.15% in Q2 2022. “The number of ATM withdrawal transactions in June 2022 was about 1.18 million, a 2.2% decrease from the 1.20 million registered in June 2021.
There was also a decline of 7.9% in the number of ATM withdrawals in April, from around 1.29 million in 2021 to 1.19 million in 2022. “The number of POS transactions in all sectors increased significantly in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. POS transactions increased by 74% in June 2022, from 8.2 million in 2021 to 14.3 million in 2022.
“The number of POS transactions in all sectors increased significantly in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. POS transactions increased by 74% in June 2022, from 8.2 million in 2021 to 14.3 million in 2022,” the study pointed out. According to the IMF, “The global economy is expected to slow down from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023.
Global influences on the growth rate include significant slowdowns in the world’s largest economies, with the contraction in the US GDP in the first half of 2022, and a euro area contraction in the second half of the year. Lockdowns and the real estate crisis in China have also impacted global economic growth.” Complete report is available on the Bahrain Chamber website and mobile application in English and Arabic.
