Bahrain's Information and e-Government Authority (iGA) has teamed up with Bahrain Post and Cisco to  launch Sijilat 3.0, a commercial registration system that will help create a commercial investment environment to attract top investors from Bahraini, Gulf and across the globe and facilitate the establishment of commercial projects and the completion of any requirements related to commercial activities, reported BNA 

 

The integrated electronic portal has been set up in cooperation with the Information and e-Government Authority (iGA), Bahrain Post and Cisco, it stated.

 

Announcing the launch, Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, said he was committed to developing initiatives that boost the economic and commercial sector as part of the comprehensive development process under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the keen follow up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

 

Sijilat 3.0 aims to further develop and improve the quality of services provided by the ministry in implementing the latest technologies that enable investors to manage their businesses easily and from anywhere in the world, he stated, while addressing a press conference at Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry building.

 

It was attended by Samir Abdullah Nass, BCCI Chairman, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, CEO of iGA, Dr. Zakaria Ahmed Al Khaja, Deputy CEO of iGA, and Nibras Mohammed Ali Talib, Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Registration and Companies at MOIC.

 

Adel Fakhro said improvements in the portal include a collection of new e-services, which facilitate and reduce steps to access services by 60%.

 

Minister Fakhro indicated that the improved system uses modern programming techniques that suit the format of various devices, in addition to other new services.

 

One of the most notable services is the "automated guide," which is an interactive tool and a proactive step that enables investors to access everything they need to establish their business and determine the appropriate structure of the commercial registration or its activity before starting it, said the report.

 

It also provides the service of printing certificates for the CR, which allows businessmen and investors to obtain certificates and CR data through Sijilat, in addition to providing and improving 10 services for CR holders, it added.

 

The minister said Sijilat 3.0 would also include a new "Dashboard" that will display all commercial records, enabling investors to complete many transactions.

 

"These include submitting a request for a new registration, deleting records, renewing and searching for active records, as well as searching for commercial activities, renewing commercial registration without a license, changing addresses, as well as adding a help page and a feature to inquire about transactions," he explained.

 

A collection of utilities was developed, including a cost and time period calculation tool; a tool for comparing activities; providing samples of documents required to facilitate the application process; illustrative videos on all services provided through the system; guide on business requirements and virtual customer service, he added.

 

On the new portal, Nass said Bahrain was one of the countries that took serious steps towards future sciences and investing opportunities for innovation and creativity to achieve the objectives of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

 

He hailed Bahrain’s keenness to constantly keep up with the latest developments in the field of entrepreneurship, and to keep pace with the requirements of the labour market in light of global economic developments. 

 

Al Qaed stressed that continuing to develop Sijilat affirms the government’s belief in its significant role as one of the factors that provide a conducive environment for various activities and businesses of the private sector and contributes to attracting Bahraini, Gulf and international investors.

 

The first version of Sijilat was launched in 2015 under the name 'commercial registration', making Bahrain the first country in the region to provide such a service, reported BNA. 

 

The debut version had provided an e-link with commercial record licensees and a manual on the use of various Sijilat services, as well as adding the services of commercial companies, most important of which was issuing a CR, it added.