Bahrain’s newly established Economic Development Board (EDB) plans to attract an annual $600 million to $800 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), said Jamal Al-Hazeem, the organization’s CEO, in a conversation with the Bahrain Tribune.
Part of this effort will be made by drastically reducing the amount of bureaucracy involved in applications from prospective investors, he said. The EDB will ensure that applications will be processed in five days or so, Al-Hazeem promised.
Al-Hazeem said the EDB’s primary goal is to diversify Bahrain’s economy, regarding both product and geographic location of the client, and in so doing to ensure the continued economic development of the island nation. A special effort will be made to convert Bahrain into an IT hub for the region, he said.
Al-Hazeem said that functions of the Bahrain Promotions and Marketing Board have been merged with those of the EDB. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
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