Bahrain Year 2019 in Review by OBG

Bahrain Year 2019 in Review by OBG

Kuwait accounted for the largest share of FDI inflows, with $119.8m, followed by India ($57.8m) and Saudi Arabia ($54.3m).. The World Bank, for its part, published a deficit projection as high as 7.7% for 2020, though this represents an improvement from its projection for 2019.. On January 1, 2019 Bahrain become the third GCC country - after the UAE and Saudi Arabia - to introduce VAT, which S&P estimates could raise government revenue by 1.5% of GDP per year.. Bahrain ranks as the easiest jurisdiction in the world to pay taxes, according to the "Paying Taxes 2020" report published by the World Bank and consultancy PwC in December 2019.. Given the robust project pipeline, the construction sector is set to remain a driving force behind non-oil growth over the medium term, helping to push non-oil revenue to 5.4% of GDP in 2019 and 5.7% in 2020, as per the latest IMF estimates..