Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef said that the Saudi market has contributed to building strong local industries that compete in international markets, adding that work was underway to develop 33 tools that limit unfair competition practices.
Saudi Arabia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2005 in a historic step aimed at increasing domestic and foreign investments, creating job opportunities for citizens, and facilitating the access of Saudi products and services to international markets.
Al-Khorayef pointed to the presence of several incentive programs and initiatives that support entrepreneurs to enter the industrial sector, highlighting opportunities offered by the industry and mineral wealth system to SMEs to enable entrepreneurs to conduct their business with ease.
The minister’s comments came on Sunday during the activities of the Industry Week, which is organized by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises in Riyadh.
During the dialogue session, the minister of Industry and Mineral Resources revealed opportunities and possibilities offered by the system to SMEs and women entrepreneurs to launch their projects in the industrial sector.
He also underlined the efforts deployed by the government and private sectors to push the pace of work in the industrial sector, in addition to the programs and initiatives presented to this sector by various relevant government agencies.
Meanwhile, a report issued by the Saudi Ministry of Investment showed that the number of new foreign investment licenses recorded an increase of 673.4 percent during the second quarter of 2022 on an annual basis.
It noted that the number of investment licenses issued in the second quarter of 2022 amounted to 4,455, compared to 576 licenses in the same period in 2021.
According to the report, the number of investment licenses reached 9,383 in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 2,085 licenses in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The increase in the number of licenses is a result of the state’s efforts to promote foreign direct investment, in addition to correcting the conditions of violators of the anti-commercial cover-up system, as part of a program launched by the Ministry of Commerce to eliminate commercial concealment and limit the spread of commercial fraud in cooperation with 10 government agencies, according to the report.
