Saudi Arabia announced the issuance of 79 new industrial licenses in May, bringing the total since the beginning of 2022 to 411 new licenses.
Meanwhile, a report by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources revealed that the volume of investment in modern facilities exceeded SAR 1 billion (USD 266 million).
The ministry said food production accounted for the largest proportion of the total new licenses (16), while rubber, plastics, formed metals, and other non-metallic minerals accounted for 10 licenses each, and eight licenses were delivered to furniture factories.
The report indicated that small establishments acquired most of the new industrial licenses in May, with a rate of 92.4 percent, followed by medium-sized enterprises, with 6.3 percent, and then large enterprises at 1.3 percent.
According to the report, national factories acquired 77 percent of new licenses, followed by foreign factories with 13 percent, then joint investment facilities by 10 percent.
It disclosed the issuance of 32 new industrial licenses in Riyadh, 19 in the Eastern Province, and 11 in Makkah, while the Eastern Province accounted for the largest number of factories that started production with 17, followed by the Saudi capital with 16 and Asir with 10.
The report stated that the number of jobs created by the sector during this period exceeded 2,500 jobs, all filled by Saudis, while more than 19,000 expatriate workers left during the same month.
