RIYADH, 30 July — Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki, governor of the General Investment Authority, yesterday called for speedy steps to open up the country’s telecommunications sector. “Investment in this sector is very profitable and I hope the Saudi Telecom Authority would quickly issue regulations in this respect,” he said.
He was speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic newspaper, a sister publication of Arab News, after visiting the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation’s research and development division.
Prince Abdullah said measures taken by certain government departments were obstructing foreign investment in the country. “We should remove the word licensing from the foreign investment terminology and use registration instead,” he said.
He emphasized the need to speed up registration procedures to encourage foreign investors. “A foreign investor may have various choices. If he sees any obstacle or delay here he will turn to other places,” Prince Abdullah explained.
He emphasized the significance of attracting foreign investment to the country to make use of the expertise of international companies. “We must open up to foreign investors, instead of keeping aloof from them, and any negligence in this regard will be harmful to the economy and incur losses to consumers,” he added.
Prince Abdullah said he expected foreign investment worth $3.5 billion to build modern school buildings in the country. He said American and European businessmen have come forward to invest in building and furnishing schools in the Kingdom. “They have expressed their readiness to sign deals with the Saudi authorities. But we have not seen such serious initiatives from Saudi businessmen in this expanding sector,” he said.
He said many schools in the country are now operating at rented buildings that do not meet requirements for school buildings. “Foreign investors have understood that there is good prospect for investment in this sector,” he added.
Prince Abdullah pointed out that private investment in the service sector was meager compared to other countries. “In America, 85 percent of revenues come from the service sector which includes telecommunications, health and education while in Saudi Arabia the sector accounts for only 35 percent of revenues,” he said, adding that he would announce new investments in real estate, buildings and hotels shortly.
Earlier, Muhammad Al-Madi, deputy chairman and managing director of SABIC, briefed the GIA chief on the corporation’s research and development activities.
He said the R&D division had made remarkable progress in developing butane production technology in cooperation with the French Petroleum Institute. He said 65 percent of the division’s 500 employees are Saudi.
