Saudi Arabia attracts more foreign investors

Saudi Arabia has become one of the most investment-friendly states in the world, with foreign investment inflows reaching over SR600 billion.  A huge increase in the number of joint projects being implemented with the participation of foreign capital in various sectors as well as the record number of investment licenses issued by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) during the last 10 years are the major factors contributing to this, according to Mahdi Al-Nahari, chairman of the Foreign Investment Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  Quoted by contentudi Arabia’s Arab News daily, Mahdi Al-Nahari said attractive investment environment prevailed in the Kingdom as a result of the incentives and support being extended by the government.  The number of investors who started pumping money into the Kingdom from all over the world is on the rise. There are investors from more than 40 countries, including Arabs, Asians, Europeans and Americans. A total of 7,500 foreign investment licenses have been issued in various regions of the Kingdom until 2009. Jeddah has become the most attractive Saudi city for foreign investors, he added.  Despite the fact that foreign investment projects represent only less than one percent of the Kingdom’s total commercial registrations, these schemes have created as many as 375,000 job opportunities in the Kingdom, of which 101,000 are for Saudi nationals.