Bureaucratic red tape and unequal treatment are a deterrent to continued investment in Bahrain’s economy, Asian businessmen and traders have complained.

Speaking during an open forum of the Bahrain Asian Traders Committee (BATC) of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) at the Bait Al Tijjar yesterday (September 16), many traders said the visa issue was a long-standing grievance, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

They have appealed to the authorities to take it up on a priority basis and called for meetings with the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) as well as the Interior and Industry and Commerce Ministries.

Some have even said that this might have a negative impact on the economy as they might contemplate moving their business to neighbouring countries.

Committee head Mohammed Sajid Shaikh said it was unfortunate that Asian businessmen were facing difficulties in getting residency permits for their family members, despite investing millions of dinars in Bahrain.

He said the leadership was making tremendous efforts to attract investors, which are reflected in their visits to various countries.

"Following all these efforts, it doesn't make sense to allow foreign investors to face inappropriate treatment. They should be protected and obstacles within the legal framework removed," he added.

"Leading Asian businessmen find it difficult to get visas for their elderly parents and family members and are forced to get them in on housemaid and worker visas, which is not right," Shaikh said.

Another key issue raised by the traders was that their children were not entitled to dependent status when they turn 18 and also could not be made partners in the family business until they turn 21 as mandated by Commercial Registration norms.

Representatives of some of the leading Asian business families said they have been here for nearly a 100 years and deserve to be treated better.

According to Shaikh, it was also not right to treat investors in the same way as expatriate employees, which is what they faced when dealing with Labour Market Regulatory Authority and the NPRA.

Al Sarraj Jewellers managing director Mohammed Hussain Malim said while Bahrain allowed 100 per cent foreign business ownership in certain sectors, it was found that many Asian traders who fully owned their business or had a Bahraini partner with minority shareholding were not allowed to open new branches or diversify into allied activities.

Another issue raised by many traders was that of the increase in charges to obtain certificates of origin and get them attested.

A certificate of origin is a trade document attesting that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured or processed in a particular country.

Traders said not only had the charges for obtaining such a certificate been raised from BD51.5 ($135.7) to BD57.5, with BD6 being levied as additional administrative charge, the cost of getting the certificate attested had also been raised sharply from BD5 to BD50.

There are an estimated 4,000 Asian businessmen and investors in Bahrain and Shaikh said Bahrain should consider adopting best practices followed by places like Dubai and Singapore.

"A good idea would be to give any investor who invests more than $1 million a special card, which gives them quick visas, hotline or green-lines in government and immigration departments," he said.

"We would like to see Asian businessmen given the same opportunities as GCC businessmen so they can compete effectively and even expand their business in Bahrain."

The Asian businessmen have also urged the BCCI to organise periodic meetings with key ministries and other government bodies, where they can raise their issues and seek redressal.

BCCI second deputy chairman Jawad Al Hawaj presided over the meeting and assured the Asian traders that the chamber would do its utmost to help in resolution of their issues.

Key committee members who participated include vice-chairman Manoj Bhatia, Shabbir Sharafali, Saad Saleem Asghar Ali, Shakil Malik, Akram Chaudhry, Dilip Wijeyeratne, Sufyan Usman and G K Nair.

The committee said while it would continue to focus on profiling Bahrain in Asian countries to attract inward investment, it was important that existing investors' issues were addressed.

The meeting also saw discussions on topics such as promoting the attractive business climate in the kingdom, BATC's participation in inward and outward Asian countries' delegations and events to boost inbound and outbound investment.

More than 225 businessmen and women were present at the meeting. - TradeArabia News Service