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Article: Tighter times for Bahrain.(Ahli United Bank)(Al Baraka Bank)
- Article from:
- The Banker
- Article date:
- April 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 FT Business. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Michael Imeson
Bahrain has been hit hard by the global credit crunch and economic downturn. Although it is the most diversified and least indebted country of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), and has been a major financial centre in the region for more than 40 years, it became the first to have its sovereign credit rating outlook downgraded from "stable" to "negative" by Moody's at the beginning of the year.
The reason given for the re-rating was the country's reliance on finance and hydrocarbons. Oil and gas production accounts for just under 20% of gross domestic product (GDP) and finance for more than 25%. Bahrain has more than 400 ...