80,000 commercial registrations active in Bahrain
Manama, June 11, 2014
An estimated 80,000 commercial registrations (CRs) are currently active in Bahrain, according to Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro.
In his response to a question from parliament's financial and economic affairs committee chairman Abdulhaleem Murad yesterday, Dr Fakhro told MPs that it was, however, impossible to decipher which CRs were actually active and which were not, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
"We have different ways to check on businesses and if we do find severe breaches, then we close them down and announce this to the public through termination lists every year," he said.
"CRs are not given out randomly and they are only issued when all conditions are met.
"It could be that there are businesses with workers on a 'free visa', and a committee has been formed between my ministry and the Labour Ministry to check on that."
Meanwhile, Transportation Minister and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company chief executive Kamal Ahmed told MPs that government real estate company Edamah had collected BD400,000 ($1.05 million) from buildings and lands transferred to it from the government after long-term contracts had ended.
"Our profits have reached BD1.6 million after we started collecting late and due payments, but we have no right to terminate contracts. We have to wait until they end," he said.
"Mumtalakat was given failing companies, but we are working on correcting mistakes on an individual basis - and everyone knows what we have done with Gulf Air, which has reported profits of BD80 million lately and others like Edamah are set to follow."
Housing Minister Bassem Al Hamer also addressed MPs and backed nine recommendations that have been drawn by a probe committee into the delayed distribution of government homes.
"All of the ideas brainstormed by parliament are immediately taken to the drawing board - even before they get passed to the Cabinet - because I hold them in high regard," said Al Hamer.
"Some are accepted as they are, some are modified and others need study, but in all cases I believe they are helpful."
The nine recommendations include counting only one partner's income in a married couple, increasing the maximum wage ceiling to BD1,200 for government homes and BD1,600 for loans and calculating an individual's entitlement based on their salary at the date of application rather than when the house is allocated. - TradeArabia News Service
