{"id":12748,"date":"2025-07-11T09:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fintechnews.ae\/?p=26840"},"modified":"2025-07-11T09:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:54:11","slug":"bahrain-ranked-as-most-cost-efficient-fintech-hub-in-the-gcc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/bahrain-ranked-as-most-cost-efficient-fintech-hub-in-the-gcc\/","title":{"rendered":"Bahrain Ranked as Most Cost-Efficient Fintech Hub in the GCC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bahrain has been identified as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech hub in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), offering a 48% cost advantage.<\/p>\n

This finding comes from a report<\/a> published by Ernst & Young’s (EY) US office.<\/p>\n

According to TradeArabia<\/a>, the report examined the increasing significance of technology and innovation in shaping the financial services sector across the region.<\/p>\n

The study compared direct and indirect annual operating costs across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.<\/p>\n

\"Source:
Source: EY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Key areas analysed included office space, talent acquisition, business set-up fees, taxes, and visa and residency costs.<\/p>\n

\"Ali
Ali Al Mudaifa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s digital economy, establishing robust tech hubs is essential for financial services firms to innovate, compete, and stay ahead,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

said Ali Al Mudaifa, Chief of Business Development at the Bahrain Economic Development Board.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBahrain 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The report positions Bahrain as an emerging hub for financial technology and innovation, supported by international rankings and the presence of global financial institutions.<\/p>\n

The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking placed Bahrain 4th globally for skilled labour and 6th for digital and technological skills.<\/p>\n

Notable multinational firms have established a presence in the country, including Citi\u2019s Global Tech Hub, which aims to employ 1,000 Bahraini coders, and JP Morgan\u2019s Global Technology Centre, expected to create 200 high-skilled roles.<\/p>\n

\"Source:
Source: EY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The EY report noted that in financial services tech hubs, over half of the workforce typically consists of software developers, web developers, and data analysts.<\/p>\n

Labour costs in Bahrain were found to be up to 24% lower compared to other GCC countries.<\/p>\n

Businesses can also save significantly on other operational costs, including an 85% reduction in annual business and licensing fees and up to 60% savings on office rental costs.<\/p>\n

Al Mudaifa added:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe country\u2019s financial services sector not only provides cost advantages but also creates opportunities for sustainable growth and technological leadership in the GCC.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bahrain\u2019s regulatory environment, overseen by the Central Bank of Bahrain<\/a>, offers a category-based licensing structure that enables firms to engage in a range of activities under a single regulatory framework.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on image by user6702303<\/a> via Freepik<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Bahrain Ranked as Most Cost-Efficient Fintech Hub in the GCC<\/a> appeared first on Fintechnews Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bahrain has been identified as the most cost-competitive location to operate a financial services firm with a tech hub in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), offering a 48% cost advantage. This finding comes from a report published by Ernst & Young\u2019s (EY) US office. According to TradeArabia, the report examined the increasing significance of technology […]<\/p>\n

The post Bahrain Ranked as Most Cost-Efficient Fintech Hub in the GCC<\/a> appeared first on Fintechnews Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174,184,307],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bahrain","category-central-bank-of-bahrain-cbb","category-ey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12748"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12816,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12748\/revisions\/12816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mena-fintech.org\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}