{"id":78411,"date":"2025-07-10T13:28:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/?p=78411"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:28:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T10:28:40","slug":"financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Annual labour costs of a financial services tech hub in Bahrain are up to 24% more competitive than the GCC<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Bahrain\u2019s financial services sector is 85% more cost-effective in business and licensing fees than the GCC average<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Bahrain has been ranked as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech hub within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with a 48% cost advantage, in the \u2018Cost of Doing Business in the GCC\u2019 financial services sector report published by Ernst &amp; Young LLP\u2019s United States office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In view of the growing importance of technology and innovation in developing the financial services industry in the GCC region, the in-depth study analysed key data, factoring in direct and indirect annual costs associated with yearly operating costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The categories benchmarked included office space, talent acquisition, business set up fees, taxes, as well as visa, work authorisation and residency costs comparing locations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Commenting on the findings, Ali Al Mudaifa, Chief of Business Development at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), said,<\/strong> \u201cIn today\u2019s digital economy, establishing robust tech hubs is essential for financial services firms to innovate, compete, and stay ahead. Bahrain is positioning itself as a regional leader in this space, offering a supportive environment that combines cost-efficiency, cutting-edge infrastructure, and a forward-looking regulatory framework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The country\u2019s financial services sector not only provides cost advantages but also creates opportunities for sustainable growth and technological leadership in the GCC. Our goal is to empower global financial institutions to leverage Bahrain\u2019s unique advantages and highly skilled talent to drive technological advancement across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The island nation of Bahrain is fast becoming a regional hub for financial services firms looking to set up global operations, providing significant savings in various operational areas. \u00a0According to the EY report, annual labor costs for a financial services tech hub in Bahrain are up to 24% more competitive than the GCC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, businesses can save 85% on annual business and licensing fees and enjoy 60% better value for office space rental. Financial services in Bahrain are regulated by a single regulator, the Central Bank of Bahrain, that provides a simplified, streamlined process where the country\u2019s category-based licensing procedure for financial services firms allows companies the flexibility to engage in various activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Andrew Phillips, Partner\/Principal &amp; Co-leader of Quantitative Economics &amp; Statistics (QUEST) at Ernst &amp; Young said<\/strong>, \u201cTech hubs are the heartbeat of modern financial services, enabling firms to develop innovative solutions, attract top talent, and expand their digital capabilities. Bahrain\u2019s competitive costs provide an advantageous business climate for financial services innovation. Bahrain\u2019s cost advantages relative to other GCC locations allow financial services tech hubs to direct their financial resources toward innovation rather than basic operating expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bahrain\u2019s reputation as a regional hub for financial technology, tech talent, and innovation is exemplified by the Kingdom\u2019s performance in international rankings and the presence of several global financial institutions that have established or expanded their operations in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the World Competitiveness Ranking by IMD, Bahrain ranked 4<sup>th<\/sup> globally for skilled labour and 6<sup>th<\/sup> globally for digital and technological skills. Notable firms that have selected Bahrain for its tech talent include Citi\u2019s Global Tech Hub, which pledged to employ 1,000 Bahraini coders, and J.P. Morgan\u2019s Global Technology Centre, expected to create 200 high-quality job opportunities for the local workforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the financial services sector, talent is a major cost factor, in the EY case study of financial services tech hub, the most common occupations are highly skilled data analysts as well as software and web developers, who collectively represent over half of the total talent employed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Annual labour costs of a financial services tech hub in Bahrain are up to 24% more competitive than the GCC Bahrain\u2019s financial services sector is 85% more cost-effective in business and licensing fees than the GCC average\u00a0 Bahrain has been ranked as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3131],"class_list":["post-78411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-financial-services"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Annual labour costs of a financial services tech hub in Bahrain are up to 24% more competitive than the GCC Bahrain\u2019s financial services sector is 85% more cost-effective in business and licensing fees than the GCC average\u00a0 Bahrain has been ranked as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gulf Tech News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-10T10:28:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-10T10:28:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bessan helmi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bessan helmi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/\",\"name\":\"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-10T10:28:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-10T10:28:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c033626e357b2f7e127eac0570ddc05c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Gulf Tech News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c033626e357b2f7e127eac0570ddc05c\",\"name\":\"bessan helmi\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bb1e09a6f094e0fa605073926f8ad9eb228a8b0aacd381fda782c562612428cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bb1e09a6f094e0fa605073926f8ad9eb228a8b0aacd381fda782c562612428cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"bessan helmi\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/author\/bessan-helmi\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News","og_description":"Annual labour costs of a financial services tech hub in Bahrain are up to 24% more competitive than the GCC Bahrain\u2019s financial services sector is 85% more cost-effective in business and licensing fees than the GCC average\u00a0 Bahrain has been ranked as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/","og_site_name":"Gulf Tech News","article_published_time":"2025-07-10T10:28:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-10T10:28:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bessan helmi","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bessan helmi","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/","url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/","name":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage - Gulf Tech News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287","datePublished":"2025-07-10T10:28:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-10T10:28:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c033626e357b2f7e127eac0570ddc05c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bahrain-2-scaled.jpg?v=1752143287","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/2025\/07\/10\/financial-services-firms-operating-in-bahrain-enjoy-up-to-48-cost-advantage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial Services Firms Operating in Bahrain Enjoy Up to 48% Cost Advantage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/","name":"Gulf Tech News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c033626e357b2f7e127eac0570ddc05c","name":"bessan helmi","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bb1e09a6f094e0fa605073926f8ad9eb228a8b0aacd381fda782c562612428cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bb1e09a6f094e0fa605073926f8ad9eb228a8b0aacd381fda782c562612428cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"bessan helmi"},"url":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/author\/bessan-helmi\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78413,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78411\/revisions\/78413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftech-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}