How to Verify a Company in Bahrain? An Ultimate Guide

In Bahrain’s dynamic business landscape, verifying a business’s legitimacy is paramount for investors across the globe. With its favorable geostrategic position, advantageous business ecosystem, and enhanced regulatory framework, Bahrain attracts diverse businesses while raising demand for rigorous corporate due diligence. Whether considering a business partnership or investment, it is crucial to verify a company in Bahrain l to ensure financial security and stay compliant with regulations. If you need to verify a company in Bahrain, the knowledge of the validation process of a business license, the legitimacy of business owners, and their financial performance is inevitable. In this read, let’s explore the challenges to verifying the business, the identities behind it, and ways forward to overcome them. 

How to Verify If A Company is Registered in Bahrain?

When a business has to verify a company in Bahrain, validate it from a public registry named Sijilat, which has an extensive database of registered businesses and registered agencies. The Sijilat is a virtual platform maintained by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MOICT) to empower e-services for business verification. The Sijilat was launched in May 2015 under the guidance of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The primary goal of Sijilat was to facilitate local and foreign investors in the validation of businesses in Bahrain. A user can access various e-services related to verify a company in Bahrain, its activities, and its shareholders.

Step-by-Step Guide to Verify a Company in Bahrain

To verify a company in Bahrain, you can follow these steps:

• Use the Sijilat portal: Click on the business search tab of the Sijilat portal, where the two options of registered business and registered agencies are given. When you select the registered business tab, it navigates to the search portal.

• Search by Company Name: At the search portal, you can enter the company name in English or Arabic or just enter the commercial registration number, then click search.

• Given Results: Once the search is clicked, the following results are shown:

• Commercial Name in Arabic and English
• Company Type and Status
• Registration Start and Expiry Date
• Commercial Address
• Business Activities
• Company Capital
• Partners and Shareholders
• Authorized Signatories 
• Amendment History

Request for Documents: If you require documents, including a business license, contact MOICT online or visit the office in person. The fee for the documents varies according to the business type and activities. 

Challenges to Verify a Company in Bahrain

KYB verification in Bahrain is subject to many challenges during the company verification due to multiple reasons that hinder the corporate due diligence process, a few of which are stated below;

• Free Trade Zones

Bahrain has a total of five Free Trade Zones (FTZs), which include Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ), Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP), Bahrain International Airport (BIA), Bahrain Investment Wharf (BIW) and Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Port (KBSP). These FTZs are designed to attract foreign investment by offering company registration in Bahrain with tax exemptions.

Know Your Business KYB MENA is quite challenging when it comes to verifying business compliance with local laws and international trade agreements. 

• Multiplicity of  Licensing Authority

For KYB Middle East, multiple regulatory authorities deal with licensing and business regulations. Depending on your business type and activities, you may have to contact the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Central Bank of Bahrain, or another licensing authority for business license verification. As a global investor, it is challenging to understand which licensing authority is relevant to the business in question. If you are required to check business compliance with regulations from multiple sources, it adds the potential risk related to non-compliance.

• User Interface Navigation

Some users find the portal’s interface complex; it becomes challenging to locate specific services or information. When you go to the Sijilat web portal, the options to register, plan, or start your business, request a license, and shareholder registration are given. Getting a business license or other relevant information to verify a company in Bahrain is quite complex and confusing. Additionally, the hyperlinking of several bodies attached to Sijilat makes it confusing which body is authorized for which sort of validation. 

How to Verify an Ultimate Beneficial Owner UBO in Bahrain?

The thresholds for ultimate beneficial owners vary in accordance with the jurisdiction of the country when it comes to ownership. The ultimate beneficial owner, UBO in Bahrain, who directly or indirectly owns or controls 10% of the company’s capital or more than it. The UBO data is disclosed at the Sijilat portal, including shareholders’ names, addresses, contact numbers, nationality, and percentage of the share in the capital.

Conducting AML Checks on businesses in Bahrain

The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain is vigilant in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. To verify a company in Bahrain, it is necessary to conduct anti-money laundering checks both on the business and the shareholders behind it. Sometimes, the business is not involved in money laundering, but there may be a high risk of AML associated with shareholders.  If any of the shareholders in the participatory chain has high AML risk, it is a threat to partner company financing and reputation. Therefore, AML checks, including sanctions list checks, watchlist checks, politically exposed persons (PEP) checks, and adverse media checks on each shareholder, are necessary to stay compliant with regulations. 

Additionally, MENA FATF is a regional regulatory body that combats money laundering and terrorist financing. To avoid legal consequences, it is necessary to check the counterparty’s compliance status. 

Bahrain Business License and Certificate Verification 

• Central Bank of Bahrain

The Central Bank of Bahrain monitors the financial sector and maintains monetary stability in Bahrain. CBB issues the license directory of banking, insurance, capital markets, money exchange, and other financial institutions. The name of the financial institution, telephone number, date of establishment, fax, website, and other details are available in the license directory. The screening of the financial intuition through the license directory helps to verify a company in Bahrain.    

• Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry BCCI provides licenses to the business and helps with the registration process. It facilitates businesses’ licensing and registration process. This helps establish new companies and ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks.

• Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD)

MLSD authority looks into labor market regulations and ensures compliance with employment laws and standards. It is responsible for issuing lists of registered companies and employers and lists of different categories of work permits and visas available.

• Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs (MOJIA) & Waqf 

MOJIA & Waqf offer justice services, oversee Islamic affairs, and manage religious endowments to uphold legal and religious principles in Bahrain.

• Bahrain Bourse

The data from Bahrain Bourse includes the trade listing and depositary services for the country’s various financial bodies. 

• Export Bahrain 

The data score from Export Bahrain includes exports and the credibility of the private sector’s products and services worldwide by promoting opportunities in foreign markets.  

The KYB – Your Partner In Business Success

To verify a company in Bahrain, free trade zones, the multiplicity of licensing authorities, and user interface navigation present multiple challenges. Onboarding the business partner through improper verification may lead to sanctions and penalties. For this reason, The KYB, as a mediator with extensive databases of 300M+ companies covering 250 countries, facilitates business verification in Bahrain. We consolidate data from 18+ official data sources with real-time data integration. The KYB, through responsive API and record-keeping, eliminates the hassle of gathering data from multiple sources and their screening. While onboarding the business with our experts, we guarantee to stay compliant with national and international standard regulations. Trust The KYB as a unified platform to verify the business, apply AML checks, validate shareholders, and obtain the financial report to grow in today’s business world.

Get in touch today to verify a company in Bahrain effortlessly.