The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) said that the number of licensed investments increased by 99 percent in 2018, and the number of investment expansion requests increased by 100 percent.
In a report issued on Sunday on its achievements in 2018, SAGIA said that the time required for issuing a new license has been reduced to 2.5 hours, the time required for modification services has been reduced to three hours and the investors’ general satisfaction rate has amounted to 94 percent.
Deputy Governor of SAGIA Ibrahim Saleh al-Suwail shed light on the most important investment sectors in Saudi Arabia.
He pointed out that the networking and information technology sector had the largest number of investments in 2018 compared to 2017 with an increase of 200 percent in the number of investment projects.
The report explained that the professional, scientific and technical services sector was ranked second with an increase of 155 percent in the number of investment projects.
It was followed by the wholesale and retail trade sector, which ranked third with an increase of 103 percent and the manufacturing sector, which ranked fourth with an increase by 74 percent.
Regarding the rise in the number of licensed investments and the number of investment expansion requests in Saudi Arabia, Suwail credited it to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to a number of countries and capitals in 2018.
He stressed that his tour played a great role in highlighting the potential and investment opportunities in the Kingdom to achieve Vision 2030.
He signed several agreements with countries that have economic experience in various fields.
“The Crown Prince’s visit to these countries has succeeded in establishing a new image for the Kingdom and creating a competitive environment and a serious campaign to reduce the country’s reliance on oil revenue,” he added.
SAGIA has recently taken several steps to provide its services with reliability and ease and within a competitive time period through establishing links with several government agencies, including the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and Meras eServices Platform, which provides access to the e-services of more than 40 different government agencies, Suwail explained.
