The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has licensed an Iraqi firm to build a smelter and steel plant worth nearly US$1.1 billion.

Jotun Powder Coatings is currently eyeing Bahrain as its key market in 2011. The company has a 70 per cent market share in the GCC region excluding Saudi Arabia, where the Jotun group operates another manufacturing unit based in Dammam.

Baytik Industrial Investments (BII), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain), has announced it has signed an agreement with Siemens WLL Bahrain.

Local SMEs from manufacturing and services sectors are strengthening their export activities via the Export Assistance Programme (EAP), a financial assistance service provided to companies aiming to increase opportunities and demand outside the UAE for their products.