Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment (MISA) reported issuing 478 new licenses in the first quarter of 2021, “the most number in a single quarter since records began in 2005” and a 36% increase from the same quarter last year, according to reports.
The latest figure reported by MISA is also a 2.6 percent quarterly increase from Q4 2020, and is the fourth consecutive increase in the number of new foreign investment projects since the peak of the pandemic in Q2 2020.
A breakdown of the contribution by various sectors to the Saudi GDP.
Attracting foreign investment is one of the top goals of Saudi authorities as it seeks to continue making progress on diversifying the Kingdom’s economy with its Vision 2030 economic and social reform plan.
The latest figures also show that 114 new licenses issued in Q1 2021 were for the manufacturing sector. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources show that $4.7bn worth of industrial investments were made in the first quarter of 2021, more than four times higher than the same quarter in 2020.
The retail and ecommerce (78 licenses), construction (78 licenses), professional and scientific (62 licenses) and ICT (41 licenses) sectors also accounted for a significant proportion of growth.
Following a 2018 reform in the Kingdom that allowed for a first time the 100% foreign ownership of companies, 59% of new investment projects in Q1 2021 were full foreign ownership, with the remainder being joint ventures with local investors, MISA said in a press release.
“These latest figures show that, despite the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, foreign investors continue to have great confidence in Saudi Arabia’s historic transformation journey under the guidance of Vision 2030,” Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, said.
“Despite common global challenges, more and more investors are starting businesses in the Kingdom, FDI inflow into Saudi Arabia is at its highest level since 2016 when Vision 2030 was launched, and global interest in Saudi financial assets traded on our Tadawul stock exchange continues to grow. Our goals are ambitious, but we are making progress at an accelerated pace to make it easier and quicker for international businesses of all sizes to access opportunities, opening up a wide and diverse range of economic sectors. So I am particularly delighted to see such a big increase in manufacturing, evidence that investors are looking beyond oil to other Saudi sectors like construction, retail & e-commerce, professional & scientific services, and ICT.”
[Click here to read the full press release and download the report from MISA]
