Mubasher: Bahrain is planning to float stakes in three logistic-related companies on the Bahrain Bourse by 2020 in a bid to raise government revenue, the transportation and telecommunications minister said.
The Persian gulf country intends to sell about 20% of Bahrain Airport Services, the operator of Bahrain International, Bahrain Duty-Free and the $1.1 billion new airport terminal through an initial public offering (IPO), Kamal din Ahmed added.
“As the main shareholder in these companies, we hope the other shareholders agree and we float a small percentage of about 20% of the companies on the Bahrain Bourse,” Ahmed told CNBC Arabia.
Moreover, the IPO will boost competition and transparency in the GCC’s smallest economy.
The country has also received an amount of $10 billion in aid from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE as part of its reform programmes to avoid experiencing credit crisis.
Reform programmes also included slashing public spending, improving efficiency in state expenditure, introducing a voluntary retirement scheme for government employees and implementing 5% value-added tax (VAT) in 2019.
It is worth noting that Bahrain’s gross domestic product (GDP) jumped 2.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018.
