Bahrain: World's Friendliest Country

The Middle East has long had a reputation for being one of the world's perennial trouble spots. But for expatriates, the tiny Persian Gulf county Bahrain ranks as one of the most welcoming places to work.

That's the surprising result of a new survey of 3,100 expatriates conducted by HSBC Bank ( HBC- news - people ). Bahrain ranked first in one key measure of how easy it is for expatriates to set up a new life for their families. It received high marks from expats who like the country's easy access to modern health care, decent and affordable housing, and network of social groups that expatriates can join.

Full story here.

Views on potential sponsorship reforms

"The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries are allegedly divided over whether to include Bahrain's decision to scrap the sponsorship system in the alliance's address to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) 98th conference in Geneva."

More here, and here.

Income tax in the pipeline?

Zawya

The six Gulf nations have agreed in principle to implement corporate and individual income tax by 2012 and are now discussing ways to bring the deadline closer, people close to the matter told Emirates Business yesterday.

The oil- and gas-producing countries are grappling with the prospect of a significant contraction in energy income from oil and gas exports next year and the spectre of budgetary deficits.

People close to the action at the GCC summit in Muscat, Oman, that began yesterday said, however, that individual members of the Gulf group are unlikely to impose income tax unilaterally.

"However, the prospect of drastic reductions in oil revenues and the resultant fiscal deficits has forced the six countries to examine whether implementation can be done earlier than 2012," they said.

Towards a World without Walls

Today's NZ Herald carries an interesting read penned by Mike Moore, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand with a longtime interest in Foreign Affairs and Overseas Trade. As well as being a prolific author, in 1998 he also decided to run for the post of Director General of the World Trade Organisation - a position that he won after a protracted contest, and which he held from 1999 to 2002.

His column, titled: Arab states on the frontline of progress - gives a summary of his business dealings in the Middle East.

Some of his statements include interesting information.

For instance, he writes about the discussions around the UAE creating a new currency. If they were to do this, it would rank 4th in the world behind the US$, the Euro€ and the Yen¥. That's no small-time impact on the balance of foreign currencies!

Other points that caught my attention:
~ if the Gulf Co-operation Council (the GCC - made up of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates) ever got their act together, it would be the seventh-largest economy in the developing world - twice the size of Turkey, South Africa, or Argentina. Its global savings are higher than China's, and its current account surplus on a par with China.
~ The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is second only to the Bank of Japan in terms of assets.
~ The International Monetary Fund suggests infrastructure investment will reach $800 billion by 2010. On the respected index of economic freedom, the GCC is well ahead of Russia, China, and India. Half the GCC states score ahead of Italy.
~ Only 40 per cent of Dubai's income is now resource-based.
~ Dubai now enjoys more tourists than Egypt. (I don't know that "enjoys" would be the word that I would use to describe it!)

The article is an interesting read written by a man whose credentials and experience in Foreign Affairs and Overseas Trade make him an authority in this area.

Link to article
Mike's website - Towards a World without Walls

Water Water Everywhere Not a Drop to Drink

A recently published report revealed that an estimated $100 billion in investments will be needed over the next decade for water and desalination projects in the GCC.

With only one percent of the world's renewable fresh water resources and five percent of its population, "the provision of adequate water supply is one of the key issues facing governments across the region today," the report said according to Gulf News.

Twenty-four million cubic meters of water per day, or approximately 70 percent of the UAE's daily water supply comes from desalination plants. "The scale of the demand is illustrated by the fact that the UAE consumes more water per capita than any other country with the exception of the US and Canada."

Read more

Huge as it sounds, it will beinteresting to see if mega-sized corporations would want to do such investments in this region. Ofcourse investments in WATER won't be quiet similar to investments in OIL unless we are going to have a GCC Wide Water Exchange.