A report on the investment climate in Saudi Arabia revealed that more than 40 international companies established their regional headquarters in the Kingdom during the first quarter of this year. This is a new indication of the effectiveness of investment development policies and the provision of an attractive environment for foreign capital to enter the Saudi market.
The Kingdom is working on preparing the investment environment to be attractive to international companies in order to transfer their regional headquarters to Saudi Arabia. Last year, it issued a decision to stop contracting with any foreign company or commercial establishment that has a regional headquarters in the non-Saudi region, this includes government agencies, institutions, and funds, or any of its agencies.
Over the past year, foreign direct investment in Saudi Arabia reached its highest level in 10 years, in addition to enabling more than 100 companies to obtain mining and professional licenses via the Internet, as well as developing new types of mining licenses. The report revealed the recent completion of more than 100 investment deals that will create more than 5,000 jobs, the formation of the Higher Committee for Investment, as well as the launch of the service of establishing business practices and opening bank accounts from outside the Kingdom. The Kingdom has also launched several important investment projects, most notably the Strategic Investor Program, the regional headquarters service, the electronic services portal, and other programs that attract foreign investment.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
