Manama will struggle to vary its investor offering

Significance The Economic Development Board (EDB), the country’s investment promotion agency, announced in March that its ‘golden licence’ scheme of incentives for local and foreign investors attracted USD2.4bn since its inception in April 2023. Impacts The government will expand foreign ownership of real estate to promote investment and attract high-skilled foreign labour. Bahrain’s free trade agreement with the United States, one of only two in the GCC, will support manufacturing growth. Workforce nationalisation rules will tighten as local job creation and fiscal consolidation imperatives become more urgent.