Continued protests and political unrest in Manama have forced businesses and law firms to limit their operate hours as staff struggle to get to work due to road blockages in the CBD.
“In Bahrain, there is clearly a direct impact in that travel has been rather restricted over the past week, and in common with many other businesses, we have been operating our office on limited hours to ensure that staff are able to travel to and from homes at times which minimize the risk of them becoming caught in various demonstrations which have been taking place,” Norton Rose senior partner & head of corporate finance, Middle East, Campbell Steedman told ALB.
Steedman says that despite the unrest, it is ‘business as usual’ for the firm—no ongoing projects have been cancelled, and the firm continues to have client calls, though meetings are predictably fewer in number than they were before the turmoil erupted.
Commenting what impact the protests may have on the Kingdom’s regulatory system, Steedman believed it was too early to call but pointed out that the firm remains committed to maintaining its practice in Bahrain.
Managing partner of local law firm Al Boainain Legal Services, Mohammed Abdullah, sees the unrest as a ‘small, localised concern’ that despite making things ‘a little difficult’, has yet to affect business in Bahrain in a drastic way.
“These protests are isolated incidents and things will calm down. It is a political problem and necessitates a political solution if authorities want to prevent business from slowing down,” Abdullah said.ALB
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