Bahrain is expected to remain as one of the most lucrative markets in information and communications technology (ICT) in the GCC region as the government continues to implement a liberal approach towards regulating its telecommunications sector, an official from the kingdom’s Economic Development Board (EDB) said.
The Gulf state’s ICT industry has seen growth due to high demand for IT products and services from both the public and private sectors. It is projected to be valued at $375 million (Dh1.38 billion) by end-2010, according to business advisor
InnoVest Group.
“The growing need for robust IT solutions is also being driven by massive eGovernment and eCommerce initiatives that are aimed at achieving economic diversification,” says Kamal Ahmed, chief operating officer of Bahrain’s
EDB.
Liberalisation has opened a competitive telecom environment for Bahrain, which currently has three active private mobile operators – Batelco, Zain and Viva (a subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company Group).
Ahmed added that the growth would likely be driven by the fact that the kingdom is the only Gulf state to have a ratified free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, which facilitates an exchange of technological expertise.
“The possibilities for long-term opportunities in outsourcing for Bahrain in niche areas of software development are rich,” he said.
Promoting eCommerce, eGovernment strategies
By 2030, Bahrain aims to conduct over 90 per cent of key government services online.
“For [companies], this includes business and office registrations, work permits, banking services, environmental compliance and the e-Tendering of government contracts,” says Ahmed.
He added that since the national eGovernment strategy was launched in 2007, the Bahrain eGovernment portal
(www.bahrain.bh)has had 20 million hits. Thirteen new features will be added to the website in March, bringing the overall number of online services to 124. Nearly BD10m (Dh97.4m; $26.5m) worth of transactions have been processed via the portal so far.
Aside from this, Ahmed said the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), government agencies and telecom service providers are consistently working towards deploying high quality wireless infrastructure for individual and corporate subscribers.
According to InternetWorldStats.com, the internet penetration per population percentage in Bahrain was about 55 per cent as of September 2009. The figure has shown a dramatic 907.3 per cent hike in subscriber growth between 2000 and 2009.
Quoting a TRA 2008 Annual Report, the EDB official added that Bahrain’s telecoms sector enjoyed a 6 per cent rise in revenues to 303m Bahraini dinars (Dh2.95bn; $803m) as against the earnings recorded in 2007.
The profit hike was attributed to a 29 per cent increase in mobile subscribers, 50 per cent surge in broadband subscribers and 8 per cent rise in fixed-line customers.
The Bahrain telecom regulator has not yet released the 2009 figures.
Bahrain attracts multinational ICT firms
The kingdom prides itself of offering a “business-friendly” atmosphere that attracts foreign direct investments, including major players in the ICT industry.
“We’ve long recognised ICT not just as an important sector in its own right, but as an enabler of continued economic growth, modernisation and competitiveness. Bahrain has proven to be an ideal testing ground for the introduction of new technologies to the region,” says Ahmed.
Cisco, which has a regional headquarters in Bahrain, has been helping in improving the kingdom’s global competitiveness in information and communications technology.
US computer giant Microsoft has also been operating a regional office in Bahrain, as well as other international firms such as Hewlett-Packard, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Software AG, Netgear, Atos Origin, Zain (Vodafone), Viva (STC) and Tata Consultancy Services.
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