Bahrain's economy to grow 3.5%

Bahrain's economy is expected to achieve 3.5 per cent growth this year, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) chairman Dr Essam Fakhro said and was published at GDN today. He pointed out that it is a positive indication in view of the current global economic and political conditions. It means the economic index is back to where it was before the unrest, he said. The banking sector in Bahrain is the largest among GCC countries, in terms of activities. Retail banks have assets worth three times the gross domestic product, while wholesale banks have assets worth 700pc of GDP, he said. He said chief executive officer Ebrahim Langawi's resignation has nothing to do with pay improvement, as alleged by a section of the media. Dr Fakhro said his resignation involved a number of reasons such as improving work environment and we have agreed to study this, our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej reported.