Retail Goes Uphill in Bahrain: Is it to Continue in 2016?

The ‘Middle Eastern Lite’ or commonly known as the land of opportunities for 2016, Bahrain is a country blooming with increasingly lucrative growth prospects for everyone to benefit from. Talk about a rapidly developing banking and finance sector, or the real estate that seems persistent on making big numbers for the Bahraini GDP, growth is happening on every economic front. Adding to the same, global corporations foraying into the local markets has given ample evidence on the non-oil growth happening in the country.

bahrain photo

However, one sector to consider in Bahrain is the booming retail sphere. Soaring with foreign investments, professionals looking forward to score a job in this sector are likely to witness an uphill trend, associated with high revenues and an opportunity to learn from amongst the industry experts in the country. Shared below is a clear insight into the sector specifics.

Retail Boom Goes Unstoppable

Talk about the growing commercial sector in the Gulf, and Bahrain’s retail corporations are the first ones to hit your mind. Without a doubt, it has outperformed the other revenue driving fronts in the county. It is quite evident, just by the number of developers seen capitalizing on the high demand for numerous retail schemes in destinations like Manama. Some might debate over the high dependence over the Saudi tourist traffic flooding the country’s gates over weekends, but it has been more of a high resilience show on the overall framework’s part.

Moreover, the strong trade links maintained by the regime with countries like China are expected to bring retail big shots from distant countries, hence also increasing the total employment opportunities for the deserving. While Bahraini and Saudi retailers seem strong on having a conspicuous presence in the arena, numerous retail schemes seeking to steer the market (like the Lagoon at Amwaj Islands) will be put to test.

Having seen a global recession and a prolonged period of national tension, Bahrain for sure deserves an ovation for the rapid manner in which it flipped the complete economic mood and came back with an ever-strong retail market.

Retail Boom Propelling the Property Market

While the entire GCC might be preparing for a set of economic challenges to be faced during the coming months, Bahrain seems well-cushioned over a highly profitable pool of retail corporations, who in-turn have found an efficient market base in the country. Not only this, it has gone ahead in compensating for the oil slump and assisting the real estate market to stay on the growth track, as intended by the regime.

The real estate sector having benefited from the retail sphere has also show immense resilience, proven by the seven percent growth it saw during 2015. Be it large scale investments in various infrastructure projects, or an array of new projects launched in the retail and hospitality sectors, the retail sector continues to dominate a majority of real estate operations happening in the country. Projects like Marassi Galleria and Dragon City have already given a glimpse of what level of profits and growth prospects these sectors can drive in collaboration.

Instances are numerous to record. However, the bottom line is, oil slump has had a minimal effect on Bahraini economy. It’s your chance to grab the best opportunity. Don’t hesitate, make a run for it and unlock all that you can!

——————————————————————-

clip_image004Author Bio: Anshuman Kukreti is a professional writer and a keen follower of the global job market. An engineer by qualification and an artist at heart, he writes on various topics related to employment across the Gulf. Reach him @ LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

Leave a Comment