Investment licenses in Saudi Arabia jump 673.4% in Q2 to reach ‎‎4,455 licenses‎

Investment licenses issued by the Ministry of Investment in the Kingdom recorded a significant increase of 673.4% in the second quarter of this year, on an annual basis.

In a report, the ministry attributed the significant growth in the number of investment licenses at the end of the period to the efforts made to enhance the competitiveness of the investment environment in the Kingdom.

The ministry also attributed this remarkable growth to efforts to correct the situation of violators of the anti-commercial cover-up system, a program launched by the Ministry of Commerce as part of the National Transformation Program. To eliminate commercial concealment and limit the spread of commercial fraud, in cooperation with 10 government agencies, including the Ministry of Investment.

The second quarter witnessed an increasing demand from new investors to invest in the Kingdom, and the largest share of entrepreneurship and innovation activity was through the completion of 34 deals out of a total of 49 deals, while education and training accounted for six deals compared to four deals in real estate activities.

The net foreign direct investment inflows increased in the first quarter of this year by 9.5%, on an annual basis. The balance of foreign direct investment also recorded a growth of 0.8% in the same quarter compared to the previous quarter directly; this indicates the confidence of foreign investors in the investment system in the Kingdom.

The United Kingdom topped the list of countries investing the most in Saudi Arabia during the second quarter of this year with seven deals, followed by the UAE, Jordan and the United States of America with three deals for each country.