Alba disclosed its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2018 during the board of directors meeting held on Thursday (February 7, 2019).

Bahraini Finance Minister Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said the deficit in the general budget dropped 35% last year.

Remittances by foreign workers in Bahrain amounted to about 4 million dinars ($10 billion) within 4 years only, which adds new burdens to the country.

The Assistant Undersecretary for Development and Policy of Public Revenues at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Rana Ebrahim Faqihi, affirmed that over 1,000 enterprises have registered for the Value Added Tax (VAT).

The Central Bank of Bahrain confirmed that Article 54 of the Value-Added Tax Law (VAT Law) stipulates that the provision of financial services specified by the Regulation shall be exempt from the application of VAT. This exemption shall not apply in respect of specific fees, commissions or commercial discounts.

Bahrain's annual growth in gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, slowed in the third quarter of this year as both the oil and non-oil sectors lost momentum, the government's statistics website showed on Sunday.

The government will start next week a new increase in diesel prices reaching up to 12.5%, in a pre-planned increase as part of the kingdom's plans to structure government support for the energy sector and address fiscal deficits, while Bahraini carriers companies have confirmed that they have already prepared for this increase and that the effects will be limited.

Bahrain's central bank said on Wednesday that it had decided to raise its one-week deposit facility to 2.75 percent from 2.50 percent.

Moody's Investors Service yesterday changed Bahrain's rating to B2 with a stable positive outlook.

Bahrain’s Judicial Committee for the Settlement of Stalled Real Estate Projects decided to postpone Amwaj Gateway development project auction to January 9, 2019, due to absence of bidders.

Moody’s expected that Bahrain banks would remain under high pressures due to economic factors.

Bahraini oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said that the National Oil and Gas Authority is currently holding discussions with several private sector entities, with a view to allowing them invest in oil projects within the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Batelco has conducted experimental communications using the new chip (electronic SIM), which will be available to customers starting December 6.

The Assistant Undersecretary for Development and Revenue Policies in the Finance Ministry Rana Ibrahim Faqihi said that the Value Added Tax (VAT) will be applied starting January 2019.

Bahrain’s new parliament is expected to swiftly pass sensitive austerity measures needed to secure a Gulf aid package, but the U.S.-allied government may implement the belt-tightening in stages to avoid provoking public anger.

Governor of Central Bank of Bahrain Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj said that Bahrain will witness the launch of the second digital bank early next year.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa opened a new oil pipeline between the two countries on Monday, the Saudi Press agency said.

The overall volume of remittances sent to Bahrain by expatriates living in the GCC countries grew by 4.8% over the first half of this year, to reach $57.71 billion, up from $55.05 billion during the same period in 2017.

The judicial Committee for the Settlement of Stalled Real Estate Projects decided to hold an auction for Amwaj Gateway, a stalled real estate project auction, on December 10, 2018, after decreasing the setting price to 17.500.000 BD.

The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) General Manager of Private Projects, Khalid Al-Sabbagh, said the company will establish a private company to manage and develop its fuel stations with a capital of BD 250,000, wholly owned by Bapco, as part of a project for privatizing the fuel service stations sector of the company.