As many as 103 companies have committed to investing a total of $1.8 billion at the Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP) in Salman Industrial City, Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro said.

Speaking at an event held to mark the production of the one-billionth unit at US-firm Mondelez International's cheese and powdered-beverage plant in Bahrain yesterday, the minister said the companies had the potential to provide over 10,000 jobs at full production.

According to Dr Fakhro, over half of the companies are based in Germany, the US, the UK, France, India, Singapore, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and other countries, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"These foreign companies represent over 80pc of the total investment commitment of $1.8 billion. More than 58 new projects are already operational and they employ over 3,500 people," he said.

Dr Fakhro said since announcing its first project in Bahrain in July 2006, Mondelez International has surpassed all the commitments it made in terms of investment and employment targets.

Mondelez International was the first company to start operations in the BIIP in late 2007.

The minister added Mondelez has had a strong and positive influence on the decision-making process of many of the foreign companies that have chosen to locate in Bahrain. – TradeArabia News Service