Saudi Arabia to Expedite Opening of Accounts for Foreign Companies

Kingdom Center Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
Kingdom Center Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
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Saudi Arabia to Expedite Opening of Accounts for Foreign Companies

Kingdom Center Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)
Kingdom Center Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo: Reuters)

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has called on local banks to facilitate and speed up the procedures for opening accounts for foreign companies, in order to encourage them to transfer their regional headquarters to the Kingdom.

The step is aimed at strengthening the country’s economy, providing employment opportunities, and boosting national capabilities and expertise.

Last year, the Saudi government announced that after 2023 it would no longer sign contracts with foreign companies that have their regional headquarters other than in the kingdom.

The policy, which comes into effect on Jan 1. 2024, is designed to encourage foreign firms to open a permanent, in-country regional presence that would help create local jobs.

According to information available to Asharq Al-Awsat, SAMA has asked Saudi banks to facilitate and accelerate the procedures for opening accounts for foreign companies and enable them to benefit from various services and products.

SAMA has also called on the local banks to explore the possibility of allocating units or establishing offices at the headquarters of the Ministry of Investment to provide all banking services to this category of clients.

According to the information, the move was based on a plan to encourage foreign companies operating in the region to move their regional headquarters to Saudi Arabia, as part of a joint initiative between the Ministry of Investment and the Royal Commission for the City of Riyadh.

The move is aimed at strengthening the country’s economy, employment opportunities, national capabilities and expertise.

Earlier this year, the Saudi Council of Ministers decided to establish the Investment Marketing Authority, with the aim of attracting investments in the Kingdom, and achieving the objectives of the relevant national strategy and Vision 2030.

Minister of Investment Khaled Al-Falih said that the authority would contribute to achieving the goals of the Saudi investment strategy in attracting and developing national and foreign investments.



Iranian Oil Tankers Using Forged Iraqi Documents, Iraqi Oil Minister Says

FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
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Iranian Oil Tankers Using Forged Iraqi Documents, Iraqi Oil Minister Says

FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi//File Photo

Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has restored "maximum pressure" on Iran, reviving a policy that seeks to isolate the country from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenue in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon.

Abdel-Ghani was asked if he had received messages from the United States over the possibility that state oil marketer SOMO could be subject to sanctions itself over the violation of Iranian sanctions.

"We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," the oil minister said on state television late on Sunday, adding there had been no formal written communication.

"It turned out that these tankers were Iranian ... and were using forged Iraqi documents. We explained this to the relevant authorities with complete transparency and they also confirmed this."

The Iranian oil ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported in December that a sophisticated fuel oil smuggling network that some experts believe generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq in the past few years, including by using forged documentation.

SOMO sells crude exclusively to companies that own refineries and does not supply trading firms, Abdel-Ghani said, adding that several traders were behind the scheme.

"SOMO operates with full transparency and has committed no wrongdoing in the oil export process," he said.