BizBahrain Magazine Nov-Dec 2017

OBG | Business Report
resilience of Bahrain’s real estate sector
and highlight the increasing demand
for housing not only in the kingdom,
but across the wider region,” Khalid Al
Rumaihi, chief executive of the EDB,
told the Cityscape Global conference,
adding that government intervention
and cooperation with the private sector
had helped spur interest.
“Strong growth in this sector has
been supported by the implementation
of economic and legislative reform and
forward-thinking policies such as the
public-private partnership model by
the [MoH] and the recently issued real
estate law,” he said.
Significant growth in the residential
sector contrasts with greater
geographic variation in demand for
commercial real estate, where there is
an oversupply.
Regulatory reform aimed at improved
stability and increased trust
One development expected to
support growth in the sector is the
new real estate law, which intends
to stabilise the market and improve
relations between investors, buyers and
developers.
Passed in early August and to be
fully implemented early next year, the
law includes the introduction of an
industry regulator, which stakeholders
say could lead to greater market clarity
and help attract more international
investment.
Another key change aimed at
increasing trust between buyers and
developers limits off-plan sales for
residential developments by requiring
funds to be held separately in escrow.
This ensures that the developer has
the funds available to complete the
development for which a buyer has
already paid, and allows for the quick
return of the investment should the
property fail to be completed.
The new regulations will also
include a BD12 ($31.80) per-sq-metre
infrastructure tax, which is intended to
ensure that infrastructure investment
keeps pace with the requirements
of new developments, despite the
government’s budgetary pressures.
Oxford Business Group (OBG) is
a global publishing, research and
consultancy firm which publishes
economic intelligence on the
markets of the Middle East, Africa,
Asia and Latin America. In print
and online, the critically acclaimed
economic and business reports
have become the leading source of
business intelligence on developing
countries in the regions they
cover. OBG's monthly economic
updates provide up-to-date, indepth
analysis on the issues that
matter for tens of thousands of
subscribers worldwide. OBG has
been in Bahrain for 12 years and is
currently working on The Report:
Bahrain 2017 which is scheduled
to be released in the first quarter
of 2017. For more information, visit
www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com or
call us in Bahrain at 1715 1582.
November-December 2017
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