MANAMA: Bahrain Bay, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s highest-profile, master-planned $2.5 billion waterfront community, has awarded the main contract for the construction of the iconic Four Seasons Hotel to Belgian-based Six Construct. This selection signals the beginning of Phase Two of the project, which includes the podium and tower construction. Work will begin on 30 November, 2011 with a target construction completion date of April 2014.

Commending the launch of the new phase, Bob Vincent, Bahrain Bay CEO said, “This project takes on much more significance than a stand-alone development. The commencement of the main contract for the Four Seasons Bahrain Bay is seen as an important commitment to re-invigorating construction in Bahrain and bringing a fresh focus to real estate lending by local banks” Vincent commented. “In addition, the flow-on effects of more than 2,000 jobs during construction; participation by local Bahrain sub-contractors and suppliers during the development and more than 700 permanent jobs; will all serve to demonstrate a turnaround in the Bahrain economy”.

The competitive tender adhered to international tendering procedures with bids from international, regional and local companies. From an original list of 21 firms, it was awarded to Six Construct who bring an exemplary track record of construction projects across the globe, including the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Palace Hotel, The Armani Hotel, Dubai, and many more industry-leading projects. Their bid displayed the characteristics that exemplify Bahrain Bay’s commitment to best practices, namely realistic cost benchmarking, efficient programme planning, and maximum quality assurance.

The Four Seasons Hotel at Bahrain Bay will be the latest in the five-star chain’s prestigious portfolio of international properties. At 201 meters tall, 50-storeys, and 263 guest rooms, the hotel complex is set to bolster Bahrain’s hospitality credentials, and set a new standard in luxury accommodation. Complete with five-star spa and leisure facilities, suspended ‘Sky Pod’ restaurant, first-class banqueting and conferencing capabilities, four fine dining outlets, and panoramic views for guestrooms and suites, the project has been designed to lead Bahrain’s hotel offerings into a new era. The project implementation will be co-ordinated by the Bahrain Bay management team, and as such the hotel’s construction will exhibit the same leading-edge contemporary design and project management efficiency that has positioned Bahrain Bay as the country’s highest profile waterfront community.

“As Four Seasons is one of the world’s foremost hospitality brands, this project demands leading construction expertise. Six Construct’s bid demonstrated this expertise, and initiating this new phase with them is another clear indicator of Bahrain Bay’s ongoing progress and its status as one of the region’s leading real-estate investments” commented the Bahrain Bay CEO.

Also commenting on the announcement, Philippe Dessoy, General Manager, Six Construct, said “We are excited to begin work on the Four Seasons Hotel project, and also to be given a chance to further demonstrate our construction excellence by contributing to a high-profile project such as Bahrain Bay. As with all our projects, we anticipate a timely completion on schedule and on-budget.”

Commenting on the project, Scott Woroch, Executive VP Worldwide Development at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has said, “Bahrain has firmly established itself as a leading financial hub for the Gulf region. We look forward to catering to the needs of the business and leisure traveller as well as the corporate and group segments. We are confident that Bahrain Bay provides Four Seasons with a prestige location through which to serve tomorrow’s guests.”

The transition of the Four Seasons Hotel to its next phase is the latest step in Bahrain Bay’s uninterrupted progress, as confirmed by Abdulla Al Doseri, Bahrain Bay Deputy CEO, “Four Seasons Hotel is the second anchor development to push ahead, after the completion of the Arcapita Bank Headquarters. We now have four developments on site, and this latest addition is a strong reflection of Bahrain Bay’s objective to combine business and leisure in our vibrant offering, ensuring it is a truly mixed-use development.”

Phase One – the enabling works – of the Four Seasons Hotel project was completed in Summer 2011, and included the moving of over 40,000m3 of earthworks, and over 7,000m3 of concrete poured into over 800 separate piles. These enabling works enable Six Construct to immediately start work on concrete slab construction at grade, and site mobilisation is to commence immediately.

Manama, Bahrain – :  Gulf Finance House (“GFH” or “the Bank”) today announced its third quarter financial results for 2011.  The Bank has continued to grow its earnings, recording a net profit of US$ 4.1million for the first nine months of 2011, as compared to a net loss of US$ 162.2 million for the same period in 2010.  Specifically, net profit for the third quarter 2011 amounted to US$ 3.4 million compared with a net loss of US$ 115.1million for third quarter 2010.

During the first nine months of the year, GFH increased its earnings by 279 per cent to US$50.02 million, compared to US$ 13.1 million during the same period last year. This increase in total income was mainly attributable to income from asset sales and settlement of liabilities. 

Commenting on the Q3 results, Mohammed H. Al-Nusuf, Deputy CEO of GFH said: “The increase in net profit to US$3.4 million is a testament to the Bank’s diligent and professional management as well as its revised investment strategy. We are committed to providing our shareholders and investors with optimal returns with the continued support of our Board members and stakeholders will”

The Bank has undergone significant restructuring and reassessing of its business model in order to return to the profitability. The positive results mark a significant achievement for the bank, which experienced some challenges in 2009 and 2010 due to the global financial crisis. The bank’s recovery plan, which emphasizes a return to its core strength of conceptualizing, deploying, and managing pioneering Islamic financial institutions while successfully exiting from its non-core assets, has proven to be the backbone of our performance in 2011.

Winners of the inaugural Bahrain 11 Bowling games received their medals at the Bowling Teams Event Awards Ceremony, held today at the Sitra Bowling Centre, in Sitra Mall in the presence of Sheikh Sabah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Board Member of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC).

Bahrain received the competition’s Gold medal, while the Silver medal went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the bronze medal went to Kuwait.

Manama, Bahrain –

The Bahrain 11 torch relay continued its tour across Bahrain’s five governorates yesterday (Monday 10th October) from Bahrain’s state-of-the-art Khalifa Sports City, marking the commencement of the penultimate relay.

HH Sh. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of State for Defence Affairs and Mr. Dawood Hussain Al Manea, Board Member of the Bahrain Olympic Committee handed the torch to Mr. Ahmed Al Fadhel, Governor of the Central Governorate, who lit the torch. The torchbearers carried the torch along the 3km from Khalifa Sports City through Isa Town, finally ending with the traditional “ardha” dance at the Central Governorate’s headquarters.

Several prominent ex-players and senior officials took part in the relay, as well as schools, sports clubs, and civil societies.

The final relay will take place at in National Charter Monument in the Southern Governorate on Tuesday (Oct 11th), marking the end of the Bahrain 11 torch relay in time for the opening ceremony which will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa the King of Bahrain.

The torch will be ceremonially lit and extinguished by the respective governorate dignitaries at the start and end of each relay. Each relay starts at 3:30 and ends at 5:00 pm, and contains 30 individual torchbearers with several designated torch handover points along the way. Upon arrival at the finishing point, unique festivities will take place that showcase the distinctiveness of each governorate for the enjoyment of the crowds.

Bahrain 11, scheduled to take place from 11 – 22 of October, will feature over 1,500 athletes from all GCC member nations who will compete in 10 sporting disciplines. The games will be held in 9 venues across Bahrain, and the featured sports are football, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics (track and field), swimming, cycling, bowling, in addition to goalball and table tennis for women.

Bahrain saw its real GDP fall by 1.4 percent in the first three months of 2011

Bahrain’s economy grew by 1 percent quarter-on-quarter in April-June after shrinking in previous three months, but annual growth decelerated to its slowest pace since 2008 as the impact of unrest continued to stifle activity, data showed on Sunday.

The small non-OPEC oil exporter saw its real gross domestic product falling by 1.4 percent in the first three months of 2011 compared with the previous quarter, its first quarterly contraction since the global financial crisis in late 2008.

On an annual basis, GDP growth in the Arab island kingdom - the smallest economy in the Gulf at some $14 billion - decelerated to 0.8 percent in the second quarter from 1.8 percent in January-March 2011, the sixth slowdown in a row, the data from the Central Informatics Organisation showed.

“The quarter-on-quarter rebound seems reasonable. In terms of year-on-year it could have been worse but it still shows that 2011 is going to be a pretty tough year for the economy,” said Paul Gamble, head of research at Jadwa Investment in Riyadh.
 
“The issue is still the legacy of the unresolved political tensions that we had earlier in the year have made the private sector very cautious.” he said.

Quarterly annual growth rates for Bahrain’s GDP before 2008 are not available.

The island kingdom, a financial hub where nearly $9bn in mutual funds is parked, had been rocked in February and March by its worst public unrest since the 1990s.

Around 30 people died in a month of unrest which brought in Saudi troops, closed banks and shops and triggered capital flight. At the time, NCB Capital estimated economic losses at $1 billion, which made up 17 percent of the first quarter GDP.

“What seems to happen obviously is further slowdown,” said Giyas Gokkent, head of research at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. “We will have to see the third quarter for hopefully a bounce because of establishment of some stability.”

In July, Central Bank Governor Rasheed al-Maraj expected the economy to expand by 3 percent this year, less than 4.5 percent seen by the finance ministry in March.

Bahrain’s financial sector, which accounts for around a quarter of the GDP, has been only slowly picking up from the global financial crisis and a regional property crash.

It grew 1.7 percent year-on-year in real terms in April-June, up from a 1.3 percent rise in the previous quarter.

Hotels, the most heavily hit by the uprising against the Sunni-led government, booked a 29.3 percent drop in the second quarter after a 30.3 percent output slump in January-March.

The real estate sector, which has yet to return to levels seen before the global crisis, was down 5.0 percent in the second quarter, the data showed.

Transport and communication and government services remained the main GDP drivers, analysts said, growing at an 8.6 percent and 4.9 percent annual clip, respectively.

Output of the hydrocarbon sector, which accounts for around one third of the economy, was up 1.9 percent in real terms compared with the same period a year ago. It jumped 43.5 percent in nominal terms as crude prices soared to $115 per barrel in May, due in part to the unrest across the Arab world.

Bahrain, which pegs its dinar to the U.S. dollar, does not release quarterly GDP data by expenditure.

The country’s nominal GDP increased by 19.8 percent year-on-year to BD2.4bn ($6.3bn) in the second quarter, the data also showed.

Gulf Air last month announced a trio of new routes to Rome, Entebbe and South Sudan

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air said it would be ready to reinstate 122 staff that it dismissed due to absence during the Gulf state’s demonstrations following a formal appeal.

The airline, which has already reinstated 70 employees, said it is currently in legal talks with employees.

“There are still a few legal things going on but, yes, we are evaluating cases and, depending on the facts and the figures, hiring back. We dismissed people not because of the political events but because of absent days,” Karim Makhlouf, chief commercial officer at Gulf Air, told Arabian Business.

Bahrain in March imposed martial law and called in troops from its Gulf neighbours in a bid to quell weeks of unrest amid mass pro-reform demonstrations.

The Ministry of Labour said Aug 18 that 2,463 employees had been dismissed since the start of the anti-government uprisings. More than 1,000 dismissal cases remained pending with no agreement on their legal status with their employers, the ministry said.

Bahrain’s Labour Law allows a firm to dismiss a worker if he or she has been absent “without reasonable cause” for more than 20 days in a year, or more than ten consecutive days.

Gulf Air said in August announced a trio of new routes to Rome, Entebbe and South Sudan and said it would increase its flights to the UAE in a bid to grow its local business.

Gulf Air plans to increase the number of weekly flights to Dubai from Bahrain to 14 and add an additional seven flights to Abu Dhabi.

The airline said it had been forced to push back its break-even point to mid-2013 from 2012 after political unrest in Bahrain slowed tourism to a trickle. 

 “February and March we had a passenger drop - a significant one – of about 15-20 percent, which is normal if you stop flying to two countries,” said Makhlouf. “We were hit but we compensated as of May, June and especially July quite impressively.”

The airline was also impacted after the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix in March. Gulf Air, the event’s main sponsor, and was forced to refund travellers who had booked flights to attend the race.

“[It was] not that bad. Of course it’s bad but let’s not forget that the F1 is just one weekend. On the London route we lost certain revenues because the teams normally fly in from London but we are compensating this as of the second quarter,” said Makhlouf.

Bahrain Financing Company opens its newest retail shop located in Sitra

Bahrain Financing Company (BFC), one of the Kingdom’s oldest and most reputed money transfer and foreign exchange groups, announced the opening of its newest retail shop in Bahrain. Located in Sitra, opposite the petrol station and the 24 hour market, the strategically positioned branch was inaugurated today by Mr. Mohamed S Haji, Chief Financial Officer of BFC Group Holdings in the presence of senior officials from the company and customers.

The new Sitra branch is a full service outlet, offering customers all of the standard services and conveniences they have come to expect from BFC.

Customers will be able to interact with knowledgeable BFC customer service employees and execute their transactions via a total of four transaction counters.

The branch will open for operations between 8:00 am to 12:00 pm in the morning, and from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm in the evening, 6 days a week and 8:00 am to 12:00 pm on Friday mornings.

As the first foreign exchange company established in Bahrain in 1917, BFC specialises in moving money smartly and efficiently with the best rates in the market.

With an extensive global reach covering over 100 countries, BFC offers customers unparalleled service, a vast array of innovative retail products and unbeatable exchange rates.

Arabic content constitutes less than 5% of the overall eContent, says Flagship head

Manama, Bahrain, 23rd May, 2011: Flagship Projects, the leading mobile phone applications developer in the Middle East has been awarded the Arab eContent Award for 2011 at Bahrain IT Expo being held recently.

The eGovernment Authority, the official sponsor for the award, at the Bahrain IT Expo 2011 Opening Ceremony, announced the Arab eContent Award 2011 winners at Gulf Hotel, Kingdom of Bahrain.

This award ceremony was held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Information Technology and Communications.

The award was received from His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa by Shadi Hasan, the CEO of Flagship Projects.

Accepting the award, Hasan urged young ICT professionals to enter the app development business and build their profile to counter the rising number professionals working in this industry internationally. He added: “Arabic content constitutes less than 5% of the overall eContent. This clearly underlines the need to work harder to increase the web resources in the Arabic language.”

Hasan added: “What we thought was very difficult two years is now being achieved as far as the advancement in Arab applications in smart mobile phones is concerned. Mobile applications are becoming a crucial part of our day to day lives in all walks of life. A huge push to the popularity of the mobile Apps in the Arab world has been given by creative developers who are defying the entire world by creating everyday creative apps hailed by global mobile apps players.”

“Operators have a role to play so that Arab mobile apps will be more popular in the GCC and Levant regions which will help in increasing the percentage of electronic Arab content in the cyberspace and mobile phones at the same time with the big convergence going on between the two,” Hasan said.

Hasan added: “Flagship is doing its part in this regard as an Arabic company working in the digital arena. We have launched ‘Rufoof,’ a revolutionary bookstore application that targets the Arab audiences covering various sectors. A major update on this world-class application is due to be unveiled soon.”

Rufoof is one of the prominent Arabic apps on the app store, which gives an amazing reading experience for Arabic content.

Flagship commands 30% of the professional mobile applications in the UAE market, and is poised to increase this remarkable share in coming years.

Bahrain IT Expo provides an opportunity for Gulf companies to display and demonstrate their activities and services that attract the interest of both the private and public sectors.

One of the most prestigious families in the Kingdom of Bahrain endorses Iraq Project

19th January, 2011 (Manama) : Range Hospitality, a dynamic, progressive and innovative institution focused on religious hospitality, at a press conference today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Al Daaysi Group, one of the most prestigious families in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

An official signing ceremony took place hosted by the Managing Director of the Al Daaysi Group, Mr. Essa Al Daaysi and the Chief Executive Officer of Range Hospitality, Mr. Munaf Ali during the press conference held at the Capital Club, Bahrain.

On the occasion, Ali said, “we are honored to have partnered with one of the most prestigious business families in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Al Daaysi Group. With the support and patronage of the Al Daaysi Group, we are confident of expanding our retail footprint in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the successful delivery of Al Rawdatain Residences by Shaza. Moreover we will soon be opening a retail showroom in Bahrain.”

During 2010, Range Hospitality a dynamic, progressive and innovative institution focused on religious hospitality, launched the Al Rawdatain Residences by Shaza hospitality complex in Iraq’s pilgrimage centre, Karbala, to cater to the significant shortage of accommodation for pilgrims.

Approximately 18 million pilgrims visit Karbala during the peak seasons every year. With the current lack of quality accommodation in the Holy City of Karbala, Al Rawdatain Residences by Shaza aims to fill this gap at reasonable prices through Range Hospitality’s Mulkiya Intifa’a (Shariah compliant fractional ownership) proposition.

Ali said, “Last year we have signed with one of the leading five star hotel brands Shaza Hotels (a joint venture between Guidance Financial Corporation and Kempinski Hotels S.A.)  as the hotel operator for Al Rawdatain Residences by Shaza in Karbala. We have also appointed one of the region’s largest construction companies, the TCD Group for the construction of the development. Our construction is fully funded and with the Grace of God, construction is soon to commence.”

“As the first modern development to be built in Karbala, Al Rawdatain Residences by Shaza will have an elegant 12-storey residence structure at its core comprising a mix of fully furnished and serviced studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites. Spread over 55,000 square metres, the development is designed and furnished in accordance with international standards, with full air conditioning and heating, including internet access and safety deposit boxes. The entire development will include a total of 624 suites, extensive public areas, a variety of restaurants, landscaped gardens, health facilities, 24-hour security, child care facilities, business centre, and other guest services”, Ali added.

Al Daaysi said, “Our two companies complement each other in many forms and we believe that together we will prosper and strengthen our business relationship. Bahrain is a significant market for the retail distribution of Mulkiya Intifa’a and we are confident to achieve our objectives. Range Hospitality’s Mulkiya Intifa’a offering starts from US$ 5,500 which provides both investors and end users a concrete investment opportunity in the Holy City.”

“We have not come across such a strong and sound investment proposition in these challenging times that Range Hospitality offers. The investment is accessible to all through Mulkiya Intifa’a and it starts from as low as US$ 5,500 with an attractive payment plan. 70% of the payment is due upon handover because the construction is fully funded. The investment is secure through the escrow account provided by Standard Chartered Bank,” Al Daaysi explained.

Ali concluded by saying that, “We as partners share the long term vision for the religious hospitality sector. Today the religious hospitality industry is worth approximately US$ 18 billion with over 300 million travelers. With the addition of Mr. Al Daaysi to our board of Directors, Range Hospitality looks forward to grow from strength to strength.“

- YEAR-ON-YEAR GROWTH IN MANUFACTURING (8%) & FINANCIAL SERVICES (6%) -

29 November 2010, Manama:  Bahrain’s economy expanded by 4.3% year-on-year in Q3 2010 according to the Central Informatics Organisation’s (CIO) Bulletin of Quarterly National Accounts, with year-on-year growth in key economic sectors including Manufacturing (8%) and Financial Services (6%). 

The figures are consistent with the 4% average economic growth forecast for 2010 and the Kingdom’s long-term strategy of diversification, now enshrined in Vision 2030, said Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).  The EDB is leading the process of Vision 2030 under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and Chairman of the EDB. 

Shaikh Mohammed said: “Bahrain’s steady, sustainable economic growth and stability is supported by our long term commitment to economic diversification and the continued strengthening of the private sector.  Stability through sound, tried and tested, transparent regulation in turn contributes to our business friendly environment.  A growing number of international companies are choosing Bahrain as the gateway to the trillion dollar Gulf market.”

The EDB itself has the responsibility for creating the right climate to attract foreign investment.  Last week Shaikh Mohammed presented Singapore’s President S R Nathan with a detailed account of Vision 2030 during talks to strengthen bilateral economic, investment and trade ties.

The CIO figures also reveal that Q3 2010 GDP in current prices grew by 14.3% compared with the same quarter last year and 3.6% compared with Q2 2010.  Other economic sectors also experienced steady year-on-year growth including Transport & Communication (6%); Construction (5%) and Wholesale and Retail Trade (5%).