The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (BCCI) newly-released report reviewed economic data from the Information and eGovernment Authority, as well as the Finance and National Economy Ministry, underlining the 3.3pc year-on-year (YoY) growth in Bahrain’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024, driven by growth in both the oil and non-oil sectors, reports Avinash Saxena.
The non-oil sector expanded by 3.3pc YoY, while the oil sector grew by 3.4pc. The Accommodation and Food Services sector witnessed the highest YoY growth at 10.7pc, followed by Financial and Insurance
activities at 7.4pc and Information and Communication at 6.6pc.
activities at 7.4pc and Information and Communication at 6.6pc.
The Financial and Insurance Activities contributed the most to GDP in Q1 2024, accounting for 16.7pc of the total. Manufacturing contributed 14.8pc, and Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas contributed 14.1pc.
Citing Central Bank of Bahrain data, as highlighted earlier in the GDN, the report states that the value of ATM withdrawals in Bahrain declined by 11pc in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier, while the value of point-of-sale (POS) transactions rose by 9pc.
The value of ATM withdrawals fell to BD286.4m in Q1 2024 from BD320.9m in Q1 2023. Meanwhile, the value of POS transactions increased to BD1.097bn from BD1.007bn.
Supermarket transactions rose by 9pc to BD111m in Q1 2024 from BD101m, while department store transactions increased by 1pc to BD33m from BD32.9m.
Jewellery store transactions grew by 13pc to BD40m in Q1 2024 from BD36m.
The value of Electronic Funds Transfer System (EFTS) transactions through the Fawri+ system increased by 20pc to BD2bn from BD1.7bn, and Fawri transactions rose by 12pc to BD5.7bn from BD5.1bn. Fawateer transactions increased by 16pc to BD267m from BD230m.
Fawri+ is an almost real-time fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer funds of up to BD1,000 per day in less than 30 seconds; whereas Fawri is a deferred settlement fund transfer service which allows individuals or entities to transfer any amount within a few hours of the business day, and Fawateer provides real-time bill payments.
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