Bahrain's economy is expected to grow around 1.8 percent in 2019, the same pace as last year, the International Monetary Fund said late on Tuesday.

Fitch estimated that there would be $3 billion to $5 billion outstanding external debt in the period from 2019 to 2022, noting that 8.7 thousand employees had applied for Voluntary Retirement Scheme out of about 48,000 employees, which would save an amount of 166 million dinars in 2019 (11% of the wage bill for 2018).

Bahraini Oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said that a petroleum development company is currently conducting surveys of the shear zones with a company, without mentioning further details.

Bahrain is talking to U.S. oil companies with shale oil expertise about developing a huge oil and gas field discovered last year, and hopes to have an interested company by the end of the year, the oil minister said.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bahrain's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-' with a Stable Outlook.

Minister of Finance and National Economy Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said that "work is underway to receive the second payment of the Gulf Support program soon".

A $10 billion bailout pledged to Bahrain - one of the Gulf's weakest economies - from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates is tied to a "general assessment" of its progress in rebalancing its fiscal position rather than to specific numbers, its finance minister said.

Bahrain's cabinet on Monday approved a draft state budget for the next two years that projects a further reduction in its deficit to reach $1.63 billion by 2020 as part of a fiscal reform programme.

The Bahrain Central Bank Governor, Rasheed Al-Maraj, said that the Bank is actively encouraging financial institutions to merge and he expects more consolidation in to happen in the future.

Bahrain's inflation rate rose by 1.4% in January 2019 compared to the same month in 2018.

Bahrain Central Bank Governor, Rasheed Al Maraj, said that the Government received back in December the first $10 billion financial support package extended to Bahrain by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, following the deterioration of the kingdom’s public debt situation and reluctance of investors to buy sovereign bonds offered in the market last year.

The CEO of the Economic Development Board, Khalid Al-Rumaihi, said that Apple Pay service is expected to start running in Bahrain by the end of this year or early next year, stressing that there are discussions underway between banks in Bahrain and Apple about the operation of the service.

Batelco Group announced yesterday an increase in its net profit during 2018 to BD 50.1 million.

Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat raised $600 million in bonds this week, managing to squeeze yields by over 60 basis points as the issue was marketed, in a sign of renewed investor interest for Bahraini credits after the kingdom was pledged $10 billion in financial aid from its Gulf allies last year.

Bahrain, once the Middle East’s hub for financial industries, is attempting to regain its footing by allowing companies using cryptocurrency to work in the country on a trial basis, as it considers how to regulate them, reported Bloomberg.

Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat is set to raise $600 million in sukuk, or Islamic bonds, with a 5.625 percent yield, a document issued by one of the banks leading the deal showed.

Minister of Oil Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said that total government support for oil derivatives in local markets over the past year was 70 million dinars.

Bahrain's investments in US Treasury bills and bonds dropped to about $720 million at the end of December compared to $812 million in November 2018, declining by 11.3%.

Car imports fell sharply in January to their lowest level since 2013, a sign that car sales are being impacted by the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

The oil crash came and went but the debt pile it left across the Gulf is still growing, leaving the region’s energy-dependent economies more vulnerable next time a crisis strikes, reported Bloomberg.