JEDDAH, 26 January 2006 — Saudi Arabia has called upon British companies to expand their investments in the country, especially in the vital sectors of petrochemicals, natural gas, water desalination, tourism, agriculture, railways and information technology. “The current strong relations between the two Kingdoms provide a great opportunity to explore the possibilities of increasing their economic cooperation,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Ambassador to the UK, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, as saying.
Opening an investment forum in Edinburgh organized on the occasion of the visit of a Saudi business delegation to the UK, Prince Mohammed emphasized Saudi Arabia’s great investment potentials being a stable and fast growing economy in the region.
The Saudi delegation arrived in London recently to seek British investments in major development projects worth $624 billion. Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure sector requires $140 billion, petrochemicals $92 billion, electricity $90.7 billion and water $88 billion for new projects by 2020.
Saudi Arabia is also offering investment opportunities worth $60 billion in the telecommunications, $53 billion in tourism, $50 billion in natural gas, $28.3 billion in agriculture and $10.7 billion each in information technology and education.
In his keynote address at the Edinburgh forum titled “Trade and Investment Opportunities for British Companies in Saudi Arabia”, the ambassador said members of the Saudi delegation were keen to meet with their British counterparts and to provide them with as much information as possible on investment opportunities.
Prince Mohammed said the Saudi economy was growing at a dramatic rate, with its annual exports leaping to SR472 billion in 2004. He said Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew to $307.2 billion in 2005. The ambassador said Riyadh would go ahead with its privatization programs.
Riyadh offers investment opportunities worth $800 billion in its privatization projects. “Saudi Arabia offers enticing financial incentives; a free market economy with no restrictions in capital movement; lower corporate taxes and a one-stop trade promotion center has been created to help the process,” a statement issued by the delegation said.
Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner of Britain in the Middle East with direct British investments in the Kingdom reaching $3.5 billion. There are more than 150 Saudi-British joint ventures.
Speaking at the final session of the forum, Princess Loulwa Al-Faisal, deputy chairwoman of the Board of Trustees and general supervisor of Effat College in Jeddah, emphasized the importance of enhancing existing relations between the two countries.
The delegation will address another forum in Manchester today to highlight new market opportunities emerging in Saudi Arabia. The delegation said Riyadh’s WTO accession in November last year effectively allows foreign companies to operate in the Kingdom on an equal footing with Saudi companies.
According to Amr Al-Dabbagh, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), foreign direct investment is “crucially important” for the Kingdom to finance key projects.