Bahrain's financial market has been ranked 14th out of 134 countries and the most sophisticated in the GCC region by the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009.

The Global Competitiveness Report, published annually since 1979, assesses the ability of countries to provide high levels of prosperity to their citizens.

Since 2004, the Report has been based on a Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) which ranks nations according to a wide range of components, grouped into '12 pillars of economic competitiveness'.

The 12 pillars are aggregated to construct the main index and reported separately for closer analysis.
 
Bahrain ranks 14th in the 'eighth pillar: Financial market sophistication' placing the Kingdom well ahead of its GCC competitors: Qatar (22), UAE (41), Oman (50), Kuwait (51) and Saudi Arabia (73).

The Report acknowledges that 'the present global financial crisis has highlighted the critical importance of financial markets for the functioning of national economies'.

It also highlights the importance of a 'trustworthy and transparent' banking sector and a 'thorough assessment of risk' to an efficient financial sector.
 
Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), said: 'This widely respected and long standing WEF report reinforces Bahrain's position not only as the leading financial market in the Gulf, but also as a world leading international finance centre.

The Kingdom offers a full range of financial services, with particular strength in banking and asset management and is home to the most advanced, transparent and respected regulatory regime in the region.'
 
'Bahrain offers the most business friendly and cost competitive location for financial services in the region and continues to attract a high level of inward investment as a result.' - TradeArabia News Service