Trade between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Grows 51% in 8 Years

Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
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Trade between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Grows 51% in 8 Years

Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)
Vehicles travel into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on the King Fahd Causeway. (AP file photo)

Trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain grew from $1.4 billion in 2010 to $2.2 billion at the end of 2017, a 51 percent increase.

Saudi exports to Bahrain account for 40 percent of the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, while Bahraini exports account for about 60 percent.

The industrial sector is one of the pillars of Bahrain's economy, accounting for about 15 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Consequently, non-oil exports are the main part of the trade between the two countries.

Exports such as cement, iron and construction materials, as well as foodstuffs represent the majority of Saudi exports to the Bahraini market.

Gulf economies collectively constitute a trade market of about $1.5 trillion, while non-oil exports account for $4.8 billion of Bahrain's economy.

Since 2010, Saudi Arabia's exports to Bahrain have grown from $482 million to $894 million, an average of about 86 percent by the end of 2017. During the same period, Bahrain's exports to Saudi Arabia grew 34 percent from $989 million to $1.3 billion.

Metal, agricultural and animal products, foodstuffs, beverages, chemicals and plastics were the majority of products in trade exchange between the two countries.

Bahrain's Economic Development Board attributed the rapid growth of trade between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to facilitated procedures and logistics between the two countries, especially clearance procedures on the King Fahd Causeway.

Along with the Causeway, the Board expected trade between the two countries to expand after the construction of the King Hamad Bridge. The railway between the two countries will also create great opportunities which will further increase trade in the future.

King Fahd Causeway, Bahrain's only land route, has been transporting a third of Bahrain's non-oil exports to the Saudi market in recent years, reinforcing the importance of establishing the King Hamad Bridge as a second pillar for Bahrain's economy.



China's Industrial Profits Narrow Decline but 2024 Likely Worst Year in Decades

An employee works at a carbon fibre production line inside a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
An employee works at a carbon fibre production line inside a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
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China's Industrial Profits Narrow Decline but 2024 Likely Worst Year in Decades

An employee works at a carbon fibre production line inside a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
An employee works at a carbon fibre production line inside a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

China's industrial profits fell at a slower clip in November, official data showed on Friday, but the annual decline in earnings this year is expected to be the worst in over two decades due to persistently soft domestic consumption.

The world's second-largest economy has been struggling to mount a strong post-pandemic revival, as business and household appetites for spending and investment remain subdued amid a prolonged housing downturn and fresh trade risks from the incoming US administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Industrial profits fell 7.3% in November from the same month last year, following a 10% drop in October, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed, Reuters reported.

The narrower decline in November pointed to improved profits as recent economic stimulus measures start to have an effect, said Zhou Maohua, a macroeconomic researcher at China Everbright Bank.

The profit numbers were also in line with a slower decline in factory-gate prices in November. The producer price index fell 2.5% year-on-year versus the 2.9% drop in October.

The World Bank on Thursday revised up its 2024 economic growth forecast for China slightly to 4.9% from its June forecast of 4.8%.

Still, in the first 11 months of 2024, industrial profits declined 4.7%, deepening a 4.3% slide in the January-October period, reflecting still tepid private demand in the Chinese economy.

China's full-year industrial profits are set to show their biggest drop in percentage terms since 2011. However, when smaller companies are included under a previous compilation methodology, this year's profit decline is expected to the worst since at least 2000.

A spate of economic indicators released this month pointed to mixed results, with industrial output accelerating in November while new home prices fell at the slowest pace in 17 months.

The industrial sector is undergoing an uneven recovery amid insufficient demand, Zhou said, pointing to difficulties facing real estate and some related industries as evidence of this malaise.

China's leaders vowed in a key policy meeting this month to raise the deficit, issue more debt and loosen monetary policy to maintain a stable economic growth rate. The government also recently pledged to step up direct fiscal support to consumers and boosting social security.

Beijing has agreed to issue a record $411 billion special treasury bonds next year, Reuters reported.

Profits at state-owned firms fell 8.4% in the first 11 months, foreign firms posted a 0.8% decline and private-sector companies recorded a 1% fall, according to a breakdown of the NBS data.

Industrial profit numbers cover firms with annual revenues of at least 20 million yuan ($2.7 million) from their main operations.