Bahrain

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce oversees competition enforcement, supported by a Competition Protection Committee.

Horizontal agreements that prevent, restrict, or distort competition are prohibited, including price-fixing and bid-rigging.

Vertical agreements restricting competition are prohibited under the general anti-competitive agreements provision.

Abuse of a dominant position is prohibited, including imposing unfair prices, limiting production, and discriminatory treatment.

The 2018 law includes provisions for control of economic concentrations, but a formal mandatory notification system is not yet operational.

No formal leniency programme has been established.

No formal settlement or commitment procedure has been adopted.

Fines of up to BHD 1 million. Imprisonment of up to five years for certain competition offences. Disqualification of directors is also possible.

No specific digital markets regulation.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) exercises competition oversight in the telecoms sector.

The authority may investigate complaints and gather evidence, but detailed dawn raid procedures are not published.

Affected parties may claim damages through civil proceedings, but there is no established private enforcement track record.

Bahrain participates in GCC competition discussions. No specific bilateral cooperation agreements publicly disclosed.

Limited publicly reported enforcement activity. The authority has focused on awareness-raising and market studies.