The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) showcased that84% of investors expect the improve or the stabilize of investment climate during Q2 2020.
The index registered a slight drop of 2.75 in Q2 of 2020 compared with Q1, a Quarterly Business Perception Survey (QBPS) conducted by the Information & eGovernment Authority’s (iGA) Statistics & Population Registry Directorate has shown. Business Performance stood at 97.17 basis points during Q2 2020, with 39.3% of companies expressing an optimistic outlook on commercial activities. The results show that 44.6% of them expected to show stable performance, compared to 16.1% who were dissatisfied with their performance outlook.
The survey revealed that 25.2% of companies were satisfied with their performance during Q1, and 20.6% were dissatisfied. A total of 54.3% reported business stability, with the current situation balance coming in at 4.6 basis points, a decrease of 7.9 compared to the previous quarter’s 12.5 points, the result of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The strongest business confidence based on performance was shown by banks, real estate companies, and establishments with turnovers of at least BD1 million. Business forecasts for Q2 2020 were also positive at 13.7 basis points, recording a decrease of about 6 points from the 19.7 points shown in the previous quarter.
The survey measured business confidence by company size, industry and investment type, with the majority expecting their performance to be stable during this period. A positive outlook overall was recorded in the BCI’s business performance, profits, and competition sub-indices in Q1 2020, compared to the results of the Q2 2017 survey which were used as a base.
The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism, with the aim of providing information to investors, decision makers and economic policymakers. The availability of this information helps foster an investor-friendly and competitive business environment allowing decision-makers to take appropriate actions based on confidence levels relative to company size, industry, and investment type.
Business confidence indices are calculated using the results of surveys carried out by iGA on a sample of the business community. These range from micro to large enterprises, including those classified as foreign and local investments with sizeable capitals and those which include foreign shareholders (as indicated by the information in their commercial registrations). The survey’s aim is to provide an indicator of the confidence levels of active establishments registered at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism, as well as those licensed by Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).
For more information or details on current surveys, please visit the Bahrain Open Data Portal, data.gov.bh.