Financial crisis clips wings of Bahrain investment houses - Arab News

Bahrain needs to reinvent itself as a financial center if it wants to return to growth and remain a destination for the region's oil wealth after the financial crisis clipped the wings of its investment houses.

Analysts say the only opportunity for Bahrain lies in funding the large infrastructure projects planned in the Gulf region, but building up expertise will be a long, hard grind with uncertain outcome.

Bahrain shelled out new banking licenses in particular to Islamic investment houses during a five-year regional oil and property boom that ended in 2008, with banks living on upfront fees on money raised for property and private equity projects.