By Adam Gonn/Manama
A new poll commissioned by HSBC Bank International has rated Bahrain the top nation for expatriates in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and among the top five globally.
The Expat Experience poll which is in its second year, surveyed 3,146 people working in 30 different industries and 50 countries, regarding their integration into local society, as well as their quality of life.
“In Bahrain, we have made a commitment to creating an attractive business environment for international companies looking to access the trillion dollar market of the Gulf,” Kamal Ahmed, chief operating officer of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) told The Media Line.
The EDB has the overall responsibility for creating the right climate to attract foreign investment.
“For those moving to our country, we know the factors they face when organising a new life,” Ahmed said, “and this report shows that Bahrain is not just the ideal location to do business in and from, but a great place to live as well.”
“We were really excited to have 12 new countries featured this year and Bahrain was one of the unexpected new entries,” Betony Taylor, corporate communications manager with HSBC Bank International told The Media Line.
“Expats living in the country rated it really highly for ease of integration,” Taylor said. “Overall it ranked as the best country to join local community groups and co-ordinate health care.”
“Respondents found it less easy to make local friends and learn the languages (Arabic, Farsi and Urdu),” Taylor said. “But the country ranked in the top five when it came to finding a home, setting up finances, and finding good schools.”
According to the survey some 81% of all expatriates in Bahrain are ‘expat-lifers’ meaning they stay for over five years, something often taken by analysts as an indication of satisfaction.
The survey included 23 parameters ranging from organising children’s schooling, finding somewhere to live and finding love.
Bahrain like many other Gulf countries is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas which currently provide 70% of the national income. Fears Bahrain’s economy may be overly reliant on these finite resources have prompted the government to work on diversifying the national economy.
The main fields under development are construction, Islamic banking and an emergent metal industry using the country’s cheap energy prices to establish aluminium and iron smelting plants.
While a large expatriate community has contributed to the country’s knowledge and skills base vital to its economic diversification, criticisms have been levelled at the policy for causing high unemployment rates as nationals are unable to compete with expatriates for jobs in the private sector.
The official unemployment rate in Bahrain stands at 3.5%, although the actual figure is believed to be much higher. In order to tackle this problem a new initiative has been set up to replace high numbers of expatriates with nationals.
The new programme aims to place 35,000 well-educated Bahrainis with high-skill levels in positions currently held by qualified expatriates and to train 150,000 nationals with high school degrees to take up entry level positions in the private sector. - The Media Line
Source:gulf-times.com/
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