Bahrain cannot randomly introduce taxes without harming the competitive advantage it has over other regional countries, said Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

He said diversifying income was more important to the government's strategy, which includes less dependence on oil revenues, in a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

"We are not ready for taxes and should think one million times before imposing them on individuals and companies if we want to continue competing with others in the region to attract investors and keep people in jobs," said Shaikh Ahmed.

He said Bahrain's daily 150,000 barrels of oil mainly come from the Bahrain Field and some from the Abu Saafa Field.

"We are planning to increase that number to 200,000 after the excavation agreements we have signed and next month we will receive a report from Bapco that I will present to the Cabinet and it will be discussed with parliament," said Shaikh Ahmed. - TradeArabia News Service