Saudi Arabia invites major American companies to invest in the industrial sector

Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, called on major American companies in Los Angeles to exploit the qualitative investment opportunities provided by promising industrial sectors that the Kingdom is focusing on developing. This came during a roundtable meeting.

The Minister reviewed the enablers and incentives provided to local and foreign investors to facilitate their investment journey in the industrial and mining sectors. He also held bilateral meetings with leaders of major American companies in California, and discussed with them clean energy solutions in the industrial and mining sectors, the latest technologies for manufacturing electric vehicles, opportunities to benefit from artificial intelligence applications in the automotive industry and localize them, and renewable energy technologies.

The roundtable meeting discussed opportunities for transferring knowledge and innovation to 12 promising industrial sectors that the National Industrial Strategy focuses on developing and localizing, including food, pharmaceuticals, aviation, and automobiles, in addition to mutual investment opportunities in the fields of automation within industrial facilities, smart industrial solutions, and the latest advanced manufacturing technologies. The meeting also discussed innovative solutions for clean energy in the industrial sector, and the most prominent technologies used in factory infrastructure projects.

The Minister of Industry provided an overview of the development of the Saudi economy in recent years, after a series of reform measures and a roadmap presented by Saudi Vision 2030, to diversify its sources of income; which contributed to improving its efficiency, raising its growth rates, and enhancing its global competitiveness.

He also reviewed the most prominent promising opportunities provided by the National Industrial Strategy, and these opportunities are focused on 12 strategic industrial sectors, including food, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, military industries, renewable energy, machinery and equipment.

Al-Khorayef stressed that the industry and mineral wealth system provides a package of capabilities and incentives that facilitate the investor’s journey in the industry and mining sectors, from the first stage of the feasibility study and licensing, until his project enters the production line, and provides a manager for each opportunity to help the investor in all stages of the project, provide him with the necessary consultations, and show him ways to access government licenses and infrastructure services for the project. The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources pointed to several components that make the Kingdom a global center for attracting investment, including its strategic location that helps it to be a pivotal industrial and logistical center, as it connects three major continents in the world, and is characterized by easy access to major markets, and has natural resources and advanced infrastructure. Regarding promising opportunities in the mining sector, Al-Khorayef explained that the Kingdom is working to explore latent mineral wealth in its lands, estimated at about $2.5 trillion; To achieve the goals of Vision 2030 for the mining sector to become a third pillar of industry and an important source of income diversification for the national economy, calling on global mining companies to seize the qualitative opportunities available in all stages of mining, starting from exploration to exploitation and processing, describing the investment environment in the Saudi mining sector as stable and stimulating, and enjoying legislative controls established by the mining investment system, and is the fastest growing in the world. In a parallel context, Minister Al-Khorayef held bilateral meetings with leaders of a number of American companies in California, such as GlassPoint for solar energy generators, Plus, which specializes in artificial intelligence, Albemarle, and Qualcomm technology.