745 Industrial Licenses Issued, by the Ministry of Industry

As many as 745 new industrial licenses have been issued, at the end of the third quarter of 2021, with an investment volume of SR75 billion, while 577 factories started production, during the same period, and the sector was able to provide more than 47,000 jobs, with a localization rate of nearly 40%, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced.

The total number of existing factories, in the Kingdom, at the end of September 2021, has reached about 10,192 factories, with a total investment estimated at SR1.33 trillion, led by factories operating in the non-ferrous metal industry, at 2,000, rubber and plastics factories at 1,324, then factories working in the manufacture of formed metals, with 1,198 factories, according to the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information report.

Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 76 new industrial licenses, with an investment volume of nearly SR1 billion, while about 104 factories have begun production operations during the same month, with investments exceeding SR51 billion, indicating that the industrial sector managed during the month of September, to create about 6,203 new jobs, of which 1,120 were for Saudi nationals, the report revealed, during the month of September.

Small size factories accounted for 88% of the number of new industrial licenses, during the past month, as well as 69% of the factories that started production, the report added, stressing that 88% of the new licenses and 84% of the number of factories that started production, were national investments.

Activity among rubber and plastic products acquired the largest number of new industrial licenses during the month of September, with 12 factories, followed by factories working in metal-making with 11 factories, while the Riyadh region made the largest share of the number of new licenses with 30 factories, followed by the Eastern region with 18 factories and Makkah region with 13 factories.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issues report(s), through the National Center for Industrial Information, on a monthly basis, relating to the most important industrial indicators, that clarify the nature of the industrial activity, in the Kingdom, in addition to revealing the extent of change, witnessed by the sector, notably, the new industrial investments, in addition to the volume of jobs created by the sector.