Prominent Saudi businessman and chairman of the board of directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saleh Kamel said the Jeddah-based company, with a capital of SR100 million, will have branches in various regions of the province.

The Ministry of Labor had last year granted preliminary licenses to 13 recruitment companies to hire and employ foreign workers. These companies are currently completing necessary procedures and requirements that would qualify them to obtain a permanent license.

Speaking to Arab News, Kamel said the new company has fulfilled all requirements to secure a permanent license. There are a number of prominent businessmen who joined hands in establishing the company, he said, adding the license period for the new company is 10 Hijri years and that was renewable.

Last year, the ministry announced its plans to replace current labor recruiting offices with large companies with a start-up capital of up to SR100 million.

The ministry stipulated that a recruitment company should be set up after the merger of a minimum of five existing recruitment offices. According to the guidelines issued by the ministry, if the company intends to recruit domestic workers from abroad only, it should have a minimum paid-up capital of SR50 million. If the company intends to offer recruitment services to the public and private sectors as well, its capital should be SR100 million. If recruitment agencies fail to launch at least five companies over the six-month period, other investors would be eligible to apply for a license, the guidelines pointed out.

The new companies are tasked to hire workers of all professions except those in specialized professions such as medicine and engineering. The ministry’s move aims to reduce violations involving expatriate workers’ rights, put an end to the rampant visa trade and provide a better working environment for them in the Kingdom.

Yahya Hassan Al-Maqbul, chairman of the recruitment committee at the JCCI, told Arab News that the new recruitment companies have to make available services such as safe accommodation for their workers as well as transportation and food.

Almost all the manpower recruitment offices and agencies in the Kingdom are set to merge to establish new recruitment companies. A number of labor recruitment agents had forged late last year a consortium to set up a SR100 million-recruitment company with branches in most parts of the Kingdom. The company, called The Saudi Recruitment Co. will have 26 branches across the Kingdom, according to Saad Al-Baddah, chairman of its founding committee.