Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) is hosting leading Chinese corporation, Citic Group, this week to introduce the kingdom's business environment and investment opportunities.

The visit includes a series of business meetings arranged for the delegation with several Bahraini officials from the public and private sector, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The delegation, headed by Citic Group vice-chairman and president Wang Jiong met EDB chief executive Khalid Al Rumaihi and other officials at the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

The Bahraini team discussed further business co-operation with the Chinese group in various fields and briefed about the benefits Bahrain offers for international investors in various sectors, which present an opportunity for growth and access to regional markets through operating in the kingdom, along with the EDB's efforts in attracting investments in key economic sectors.

Citic Group is a Chinese state-owned conglomerate whose business lines include full-range financial services, real estate and infrastructure, engineering contracting, energy and resources, manufacturing and others. CITIC Limited is its major business platform which is listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Citic Group's ranking has risen in the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest corporations from 194 in 2012 to 160 in 2014.

"There is an increasing interest from Chinese investors in Bahrain. This is a result of the growing understanding of the benefits and potential growth opportunities the kingdom offers for international investors," Al Rumaihi said.

"The Citic group visit reflects this interest and the strength of the historical bilateral relations between the kingdom and China."

"Such opportunities go in line with our aim to diversify Bahrain's economy and ensure quality jobs for Bahrainis."

The visit also includes meetings with officials from Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company and the Housing Ministry, along with several private sector organisations.

"We look forward to meeting the private and public sector representatives to discuss the investment opportunities in the kingdom, and benefit from the competitive advantages Bahrain offers for investors which is key for Chinese businesses," Jiong said.

The visit follows a successful 10-day road show to China last year which was organised by the EDB. The road show consisted of a high-level business delegation, which visited four major business hubs in China in October 2014: Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and resulted in signing of 13 memoranda of understandings with various Chinese companies and trade entities.

The road show aimed to strengthen economic and trade bilateral relations, and comes after the official visit by His Majesty King Hamad to China.

The EDB established an office in China in 2013 to promote investment opportunities in the kingdom. - TradeArabia News Service