DUBAI: Bahrain’s economic growth picked up again in the third quarter of 2012 after shrinking in April-June and its statistics office expects the small oil producer to recover further from the impact of social unrest, state news agency BNA said.
Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter in July-September, BNA quoted Mohammed Al-Amer, Central Informatics Organization’s head, as saying.
That compares to a 1.3 percent drop in the second quarter, which was the first quarterly decline since a 6.6 percent slump in the first three months of 2011.
On an annual basis, Bahrain’s real GDP — despite ongoing political turmoil weighing on the regional financial hub — expanded 3.1 percent in the third quarter, a slowdown from a 4.3 percent growth in the previous three months.
Al-Amer said that the annual GDP rise was mainly due to non-oil economic activities, which grew 5.9 percent in constant prices in the third quarter, although construction and real estate still expanded at lower single digit rates.
Output in the hydrocarbon sector, which accounts for almost a third of Bahrain’s $ 29 billion economy, fell 7.1 percent year-on-year due to a roughly 10 percent decline in crude production from the Abu Safa field, he said.
Analysts polled by Reuters in September forecast Bahrain’s real GDP growth to accelerate to 2.8 percent in 2012 from 1.9 percent in 2011.
Bahrain economy recovers in third quarter
Bahrain economy recovers in third quarter
Kuwait, Qatar real estate trading hits $442 million in a week
JEDDAH: Real estate trading remained robust in Kuwait and Qatar in the week ending Dec. 11, with transactions in both markets totaling around $442 million, according to official data from the respective ministries of justice.
In Kuwait, 128 real estate contracts were traded during the week, with a total value of around 935 million Kuwaiti dinars ($308 million), according to the Ministry of Justice.
Figures published on the ministry’s website also showed private real estate led trading with 69 contracts valued at 339 million dinars, the state’s news agency KUNA reported.
Investment properties followed with 33 agreements worth 31 million dinars, while commercial properties saw 25 contracts totaling 269 million dinars. Meanwhile, one warehouse property was traded for 206 million dinars.
The geographic breakdown showed that in the Capital Governorate, eight private property agreements, two investment property deals, and one commercial contract were traded.
Hawalli recorded 13 private and 11 investment property contracts, along with three others, while Al-Farwaniya saw seven private and five investment property agreements. In Mubarak Al-Kabeer, six private deals and one investment property contract were traded, KUNA reported.
According to the data, Al-Ahmadi Governorate accounted for 23 private property transactions, 13 investment properties, and 21 commercial properties, while Jahra registered 12 private property transactions and a single investment property during the same period.
In Qatar, deals logged with the Department of Real Estate Registration at the Ministry of Justice reached 488,553,828 Qatari riyals ($134 million) during the same period, according to the country’s official news agency, known as QNA.
Total sales contracts for residential units during the same period amounted to 123,639,736 riyals, bringing the value of real estate transactions for the week to approximately 612,193,564 riyals.
The weekly report from the Real Estate Registration Department showed that traded properties included vacant land, houses, residential buildings, hotel apartments, and residential units.
“Sales were concentrated in Al-Rayyan, Doha, Al-Wakra, Umm Slal, Al-Shamal, Al-Khor and Al-Thakhira, Al-Daayen, Al-Sheehaniya, municipalities, and in, Al-Kharayej, Lusail 69, The Pearl Island, Al-Wukair, Ghar Thuaileb, Al-Sakhama, Al-Meshaf, and Legtaifiya, Zones,” the registration department said in a release.
During the previous week, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, as per QNA, real estate transactions recorded by the department had exceeded 451 million riyals.
