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Dubai: Bahrain's Economic Development Board (EDB), a government agency responsible for promoting the kingdom's business interests, is behind a new global campaign to showcase Bahrain as an investment haven.
As EDB's chief operating officer, Kamal Ahmad is closely involved in pushing the biggest image-making exercise Bahrain has ever launched. In an exclusive interview, he tells Gulf News how the campaign is being pursued and what its objectives are.
Ahmad, 38, was appointed to the post in January 2007 after working for two years as director of projects. He first joined the EDB in 2004 as industrial programme manager, working with key ministries in formulating the national industrial policy, strategies and business development plans.
Ahmad began his career as a project engineer at Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company in 1994 and left in 2004 as planning superintendent. He received a Bachelor of Science and Civil Engineering degree from the University of Bahrain in 1994 and a Master's degree in International Project Management from Leeds University in 1998. He is also a member of several boards, including Bahrain Development Bank and Bahrain Airport Company.
Gulf News: What was the need for Bahrain to launch an international publicity campaign?
Kamal Ahmad: The EDB is an agency for accelerating the pace of economic growth in Bahrain. We are the mandated organisation to promote Bahrain as a business destination.
This is the first campaign of this size we have launched. It is also the first time we have allocated so many financial and human resources in a promotion campaign. In the past we did not do enough to promote ourselves. We have some good stories to tell.
We started our campaign on April 1. The first stage of the campaign is until the end of this year. Our targeted audiences are chief executive officers, but there will be an impact on other senior executives also when you have a campaign like this.
Currently our targeted geographical areas are the GCC and Europe, particularly Germany and the UK. China and India are also important but we have different strategies for them. The message we are conveying is simple: "Business-friendly Bahrain."
Advertising is just one tool in this campaign. Our objective is to make sure that anyone who sees "business-friendly" immediately remembers Bahrain. Why this message? Because in Bahrain we are really friendly. None of the people featured in the ads is a non-Bahraini.
What sort of investment do you have at present from the GCC and other countries?
Let us start with the telecommunications sector. Four years ago there was just one telecom company, Batelco. Now we have 25 to 30 companies.
Zain is a Kuwait-based operator, which is now making Bahrain its regional base. We have created more than 8,000 jobs in the telecommunications industry in the last four to five years.
In the financial sector, there are more than 400 institutions. We have attracted Capital Land, a big Singaporean company, which is investing heavily in the real estate sector. In the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) report, Bahrain is ranked number 11 when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment in relation to GDP.
Bahrain is an old financial hub in the Gulf, how do you feel about the rise of Dubai and Qatar as financial centres?
I think there will be no single financial centre in the region. Most of the big banks are setting up more than one regional office.
For example, Royal Bank of Scotland is coming to the region, and it has selected three countries for its offices, (and) Bahrain is one of them.
I think most of the big players will be in more than one city. We have proven track record in this sector when it comes to having a robust regulatory environment. It is one of our biggest advantages. We have a big concentration of Islamic banks, and new ones are being established. In Bahrain, we do not have special areas designated as free zones because the whole country is a free zone.
What about the availability of land?
Bahrain is not so big in size, but it is not the scarcity of land [that is important], but how to manage the land. The EDB recently completed a masterplan for land use for the next 30 years. So we know exactly where new industries, tourism, residential and commercial projects are going to be.
In which sectors are you trying to attract investment?
We have to be focused. We have only one resource to compete with others: the people. We have to make sure that our people are ready with the necessary knowledge and skills in a global environment.
Educational reforms are one of the biggest initiatives we have undertaken. We are not going to compete in every sector. We cannot compete in the upstream oil and gas industries - Abu Dhabi and Qatar can do great in this sector.
Bahrain is focusing on the value-added downstream sector. The financial sector, which will create jobs with medium and high wages, is important, business services are important, manufacturing that utilises aluminium is important, the automotive industry will be important in the future.
Tourism is very important, and we have a big opportunity to promote this sector with the establishment of the Bahrain Tourism Development Authority. A law has been passed by parliament for its establishment. There were six million visitors to Bahrain in 2007. They came mainly from Saudi Arabia. We have nine five-star hotels under construction. That will double the number of five-star hotels. There are many four-star hotels being constructed.
We are focusing on industries with medium and high wages because the development has to benefit Bahrainis, it has to elevate the national standard of living. We do not want development for the sake of development. This does not mean we do not want expatriates; we want them to accelerate the rate of economic growth. But we do not want to create jobs with low wages.
Unemployment has been a long-standing issue in Bahrain. How are you reconciling the demand for jobs from Bahrainis and pressures from the businesses that want to hire more expatriates?
Bahrain is the first country in the region to address the issue of labour market reforms. We have passed the stage of Bahrainisation, Saudisation or Qatarisation. We have addressed the root of the problem. We realise that in Bahrain the engine of growth will not be the public sector, it will be the private sector. The private sector should not rely on low wages for being competitive. We want to create a level-playing field for Bahrainis and expatriates. If a Bahraini needs a certain salary to have a decent living standard, we cannot allow less pay for expatriates for the same job. Only productivity and capability will dictate salary, be it a Bahraini or an expatriate.
All the money raised from issuing work permits for expatriates will be utilised for training Bahrainis. The money will go to a fund called the Labour Fund and it is being used to train people in the private sector.
Bahrain needs to create 100,000 jobs in the next 10 years. In the last two years, we have managed to reduce the rate of unemployment to three-four per cent. But the issue of unemployment in Bahrain is bigger than other countries in the region.
Are you receiving support from the private sector in your efforts?
There were some issues in the beginning, but now everyone is supportive. Parliament has approved the Labour Market Regulatory Authority. The Labour Fund has been established. The private sector is participating in these initiatives.
What is the percentage of Bahrainis in the private sector?
Their percentage in the public sector is 90 per cent, but in the private sector it is 30-35 per cent. We need to make private sector jobs attractive to Bahrainis. They must compete in skills and knowledge to get private sectors jobs.
Does EDB make direct investments in projects?
We have established a new holding company called Mumtalakat. It owns Alba, Batelco, Gulf Air, shares in National Bank of Bahrain. There are 36 companies in which it has stakes. It is like the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain. It is an independent authority; they will be investing all over the world. Being a company owned by the government of Bahrain's its strategic objective will be to create an impact on the Bahraini economy.
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