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Kingdom Budget and the Fiscal Balance Program

Budget

The financial policies of the Kingdom of Bahrain are formulated and implemented within the economic vision 2030 aiming to improve living standards and increase levels of economic growth.

Bahrain fiscal budget is planned for two years. The budget is put together by the Ministry of Finance & National Economy and it gets implemented after gaining approval of the Council of Representatives.

The State Budget’s fiscal results and projections for 2021 – 2022 expects total revenues to reach BHD 2.406 billion in 2021 and BHD 2.457 billion in 2022, while government expenditure is expected to total BHD 3.614 billion in 2021 and BHD 3.569 billion in 2022.

The stats budget aims to:

  • Commit to the goals of the Fiscal Balance Program.
  • Stimulating economic recovery.
  • Continue to create promising opportunities for citizens.

Post Pandemic Economic Recovery Plan

The government of Bahrain have taken unprecedented efforts to mitigate the effects of lower oil prices and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The significant actions taken by the government since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic ensured business continuity and mitigate the effects on the economy by deferral of individuals and business loans, launch of support programs to support Bahraini enterprises, and salary support to Bahrainis working in the private sector.

The Economic Recovery Plan

The government of the Kingdom of Bahrain launched the economic recovery plan on October 31, 2021, within the framework of what was included in the speech of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, during the opening ceremony of the fourth session of the fifth legislative term of the Shura and Representatives Councils, and the continuous follow-up of the Ministerial Cabinet headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The Kingdom’s government has developed an "economic recovery" plan with the aim of enhancing financial stability and continuing to work to achieve the desired development aspirations, in a way that will positively benefit the country and citizens. The plan is based on 5 priorities that include 27 integrated programs that include:

Creating promising job opportunities and making the citizen the first choice in the labour market

The plan aims to employ 20,000 Bahrainis in the economy and train 10,000 Bahrainis annually until 2024 through implementing the initiatives of the National Labour Market Plan (2021-2023), reviewing work fees to reduce the gap between the cost of a Bahraini and foreign employee, in addition to launching the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) a series of new training programs to develop the capabilities and competitiveness of the Bahrainis and keep pace with the current and future labour market needs.

Fcilitating commercial procedures and increasing their effectiveness

The plan aims to make commercial procedures easier, thus contributing to attracting investments worth more than $2.5 billion by 2023, through:

  • Launching Sijilat portal to accelerate the issuance of permits and government approvals for companies.
  • Launching an electronic system for services related to urban planning
  • Updating laws and legislations related to commercial matters
  • Launching the Government Land Investment Platform
  • Offering permanent residencies for investors and talented individuals
  • Enhancing economic integration by facilitating the movement of passengers and goods
  • Documenting government services and developing a Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Major development projects

Executing major development projects by launching new investment and industrial zones and partnering with the private sector to implement major infrastructure projects.

Developing promising sectors

The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain launched strategies targeting vital sectors to achieve comprehensive economic development in order to develop promising sectors with the aim of grow non-oil GDP by 5% in 2022 through:

  • Oil and gas sector strategy
  • Tourism sector strategy: The strategy aims to raise the level of tourism indicators such as tourist spending, average tourist nights, the percentage of the tourism sector's contribution to the GDP and increasing the number of visitors coming to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the purpose of tourism. The strategy revolves around a number of pillars, namely: marine activities, business tourism, sports tourism, culture, antiquities and history, recreational tourism, media and cinema films, and medical tourism.
  • Logistics services sector strategy 2022-2026: The strategy aims to review laws and regulations, develop infrastructure facilities, develop policies and procedures, provide incentives to investors, enhance regional and international communication, and promote investment opportunities.
  • Industry sector strategy
  • Financial services sector development strategy 2022-2026: The priorities of the strategy revolve around creating quality job opportunities for citizens, developing the financial markets sector, developing legislation and policies, developing the insurance sector, and developing financial services and financial technology.
  • ICT and digital economy sector strategy 2022-2026: The strategy focuses on developing the infrastructure of the telecommunications sector, strengthening eGovernance, supporting the digital economy, and developing digital capabilities.
  • Launching incentive programs for medium and small companies in promising sectors by the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).

Enhancing the efforts of financial sustainability and economic stability

The economic recovery plan aims to achieve financial sustainability and economic stability by achieving fiscal balance by 2024 through:

  • Reducing operating expenses in government entities
  • Enhancing project budget efficiency
  • Controlling manpower expenses
  • Enhancing the efficiency and fairness of direct government support for those who deserve it most
  • Increase the shareholding of government-owned companies
  • Reviewing the prices of goods and services provided to companies and businesses
  • Government revenue development initiatives
  • Increasing the VAT to 10% through legislative procedures

The Fiscal Balance Program

Bahrain aims to further strengthen the national economy with the Fiscal balance program to achieve a balanced budget by 2022. The program will strengthen the kingdom fiscal and economic foundation to guarantee sustainable economic growth and to utilize national resources in a way that benefits citizens and future generations.

Kingdom of Bahrain state budget highlights:

  • Projects budget increased by BHD 70 million.
  • Increase Municipalities budget by BHD 1 million.
  • Social support budget increased by BHD 57 million.