Security firms flock to rich and risky West Asia

MANAMA, Dec 7 (Reuters) From the makers of bullet proof glass to counter-terrorism experts, stallholders at a security fair in Bahrain say booming economies and growing instability have made the West Asia their biggest earner.

A mixture of high risk and high rewards in the troubled region have sent profits soaring with no end in sight, security firm representatives said at the exhibition ending yesterday.

''I think when you look at our industry, we operate in Afghanistan and Iraq ... those threats are not going away. They have actually increased in the last few years,'' said Wilbert Kragten of Global, a business risk consultancy.

Surrounded by stalls selling everything from Kevlar body armour to whirring radar scanners that see through clothing, Kragten pointed to Saudi Arabia as an example of an oil-producing state under ''quite some threat'' taking protective measures.

The event's main organiser was state oil firm Saudi Aramco.

Militants have targeted Gulf oil installations in the past.

''Oil prices are driving economies here. Therefore they can invest, build buildings, roads ... there's more assets, more to protect. But (they) are also investing abroad ... they need to know what risks their investments are exposed to,'' he added.

Nearby sat a 188,000 armour-plated BMW, which could withstand rounds from guns including the M16 and AK47. The armour-fitting company moved to Oman a year ago to be closer to its clients, a representative said.

Despite the armour, the car would not have been able to save the life of assassination targets such as former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was murdered in a Beirut car bombing in 2005.

''There's not much you can do ... If you put two tonnes of dynamite under a car, it's going to flying up in the air. You're helpless,'' Alpine Armoring's Reynaldo Figueiredo said.

West Coast Detectives International President Philip Little said it was his business to prevent such incidents, by coordinating with regional police and secret service agents to analyse risk for mostly corporate clients in the oil sector.

''Mainly because of the oil industry ( West Asia) is the biggest dollar area for the security business,'' he said.

''Terrorist groups, radical elements, are getting much more sophisticated and are understanding that the best way to hit their enemy is to hit them economically. If you could cut off the oil, that could bring a nation down.'' Most exhibitors said they were focusing on Iraq and Afghanistan, but some saw Lebanon as a potential growth area.

Daily protests in the capital Beirut aim to bring down the government, amid rising tensions between rival political and sectarian factions. This year's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas devastated Lebanon's infrastructure.

''For instance Lebanon. Those conflict situations where you need to clean up the mess, that's where opportunities are. From an industry perspective, that's what is growing,'' Kragten said.

REUTERS PB RK1130