Dead Sea, Jordan: Bahrain's economy is set to grow 5 per cent in 2012 after slowing this year, as the government implements a stimulus package and receives aid from other Gulf nations, said Shaikh Mohammad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa, chief executive officer of the country's Economic Development Board.
"A lot of it is stimulus spending," Shaikh Mohammad said yesterday in an interview in Jordan. "It is our largest capital-expenditure budget, plus the money coming in from the GCC."
Economic growth may slow to as little as two per cent this year, compared with an earlier forecast of five per cent, he said.
Clashes in February and March between mostly Shiite protesters and security forces left 35 people dead, hurt tourism and spurred the central bank to cut its forecasts for economic growth.
The Gulf Cooperation Council pledged to give Bahrain $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) over ten years to offset the costs of the unrest and help fund infrastructure and housing. The government plans to build 50,000 houses "over the next couple of years", Shaikh Mohammad said.
The protests cost Bahrain about $2 billion of output, Essam Fakhro, chairman of Bahrain's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in September. That figure also includes $200 million of damage to small- and medium-size industries.
Investment hub
Delegations of executives and government officials have travelled to the US and the UK to promote Bahrain as an attractive investment hub, Shaikh Mohammad said. "Investment companies are opening up, expanding, but we can always do more," he said.
Shiites represent about 70 per cent of the country's population of 1.2 million, according to the US State Department, and have long demanded rights equal to those of Sunnis, including appointments to senior government and military posts. In the 1990s, Bahrain was shaken by Shiite violence.
