Bahrain: Plan to Develop More Than 6,300 SMEs

Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. BNA
Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. BNA
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Bahrain: Plan to Develop More Than 6,300 SMEs

Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. BNA
Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. BNA

Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani announced Monday a national plan to be implemented by the Ministry in cooperation with the Economic Development Board, Tamkeen, and the Bahrain Development Bank to develop the small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) sector.

Notably, SMEs account for about 30 percent of the Bahraini economy with up to 6,335 enterprises in the Kingdom.

Zayani said that the plan is in its final stages as the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism is preparing to submit it to the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Board to adopt it officially in the SME sector, expecting it to be implemented during the first half of 2018.

The new national plan for the development of the SMEs will include all the axes of work in this sector, including the legislative and applied aspects, Zayani stated, adding that it will also include the development of laws such as insolvency law and bankruptcy, channels of financing and encouragement to export and provide all kinds of advice.

He affirmed that the new national plan aims at giving small and medium-sized enterprises an integrated environment capable of providing all the reasons for its success so as to motivate Bahrainis and entrepreneurs from both sexes to shine in this field.

Zayani was speaking on the sidelines of his patronage of the graduation of five batches of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Program.

Jafar al-Sayegh, member of the Bahrain Economists Association, estimated the size of SMEs between 28 and 30 percent of the Bahraini economy.

Sayegh pointed out that the number of micro-enterprises in the Bahraini market is 85,000, while the number of small enterprises is 5,485, and the number of average enterprises is 950 while the number of very large enterprises is about 176.



Oil Little Changed after US Crude Inventory Build

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
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Oil Little Changed after US Crude Inventory Build

An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
An oil pump of IPC Petroleum France is seen during sunset outside Soudron, near Reims, France, February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday after rising to a near one-week high in the previous session, as an industry report showing a buildup in US crude stockpiles pressured the market.

Brent futures were up 34 cents, or 0.5%, at $76.38 a barrel by 1407 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 26 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.51.

US crude stocks rose by 3.34 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday because of the stock build in the US, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

"The market continues to lack a clear direction, with supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and the OPEC+ production increase delay being offset by global demand worries," Hansen said.

Official oil inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on Thursday.

Separately, Russia said Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil flows, a major route for crude exports from Kazakhstan, were reduced by 30%-40% on Tuesday after a Ukraine drone attack on a pumping station.

A 30% cut would equate to the loss of 380,000 barrels per day of market supply, Reuters calculations show.

However, other factors and potential boosts to oil supply added to concerns about prices.

Potential restarts of oil flows from Iraq's Kurdistan region were offsetting supply risks, analysts at ING said in a note.

Türkiye, which hosts the port of Ceyhan that loads the Iraqi oil from the Kurdistan region, did not receive confirmation from Iraq on the resumption as of Thursday, the country's energy minister told Reuters.

A resumption of the Iraqi oil flows would add 300,000 barrels of supply per day onto the market, ING analysts said.

Import tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump's administration could dent oil prices by raising the cost of consumer goods, analysts said, weakening the global economy and reducing fuel demand. Concerns about European and Chinese demand were also helping keep prices in check.

"It is natural to be concerned about the global economic outlook as Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer smashing away at the existing global 'free-trade structure' with signals of 25% tariffs on car imports to the US," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.