Gulf Air is unlikely to be privatised in the near future, but the carrier now has a strategy in place to make it a success, a seminar heard.

The economic seminar on the outlook for Bahrain was hosted by BNP Paribas at Capital Club, Bahrain Financial Harbour, yesterday.

'The government's privatisation committee looks at a lot of options across a range of business but no-one wants an airline with an anchor weighing it down,' Bahrain Economic Development Board chief executive officer Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa told delegates.

'Privatisation is not on for now,' he said. 'Will it be in the future? That is up to the owners and they are the government and Mumtalakat, who both hold a 50 per cent stake in the airline.

'The ownership will remain as it is until they make a decision to change that. Mumtalakat has done what it could for the airline and it is now time for the government to play a role.'

Bahrain is an extremely transparent economy and that is why there is such an open debate about Gulf Air, Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said.

'Many airlines have a problem at the moment but we have the right board in place, the right management and the right plan for the future and we deal with this publicly. We are implementing a strategy that we believe will leave us with a much better airline.

'Gulf Air has been a challenge because it has gone from four national owners to three, to two and now to one.

'Our strategy is to develop the airline as a carrier that serves people coming in and going out of Bahrain, not as some sort of hub for people passing through,' he said.

'Our strategy is to offer connectivity for the banking community, the business community and the people of Bahrain to support the economic needs of the country and its people. We are confident that we will be successful now that we have the strategy in place,' Shaikh Ahmed added. - TradeArabia News Service