MANAMA: Bahrain’s fiscal balance programme is paying off, enabling it to honour its international obligations, thanks to its strong economic base.
The government has succeeded in repaying $1.25 billion in international bonds due last Tuesday.
“The repayment is an indicator of the fiscal balance programme which was launched in October 2018 to balance expenditure and revenues by 2022,” said the Finance and National Economy Ministry.
It stressed Bahrain’s success in honouring its international obligations despite the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The ministry also published its 2019 Bahrain Annual Economic Report that indicates that economic development remains on track.
It shows Bahrain recorded annual real GDP growth of 1.8 per cent during 2019, spurred by a recovery of the oil sector which grew by 2.2pc and continued non-oil sector growth of 1.7pc, both in real terms.
Hotels and restaurants sector registered the strongest non-oil sector performance in 2019; growing by 6.8pc year-on-year, supported by a 3.8pc increase in the number of visitors across King Fahad Causeway and a 5.5pc increase in arrivals via Bahrain International Airport.
The average length of stay for visitors increased by 16.8pc, with average daily visitor spending increasing by 1.1pc, it said.
Personal and social services sector also registered strong growth, expanding by 2.9pc while construction and manufacturing sectors saw robust expansion of 2.6pc and 1.6pc, respectively.
&uuid=(email))