RIYADH, 1 December 2006 — The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has threatened to cancel the licenses of a number of Saudi investors if their projects now under way in Yemen finish behind schedule.
A SAGIA spokesman said here that the licenses granted to the Saudi investors were conditional on a predetermined start and end date. So the contractors were expected to honor the terms and conditions specified in the contract. The move has been criticized in the Yemeni media.
According to Ali Al-Wafi, acting director at the Ministry of National Economy, SAGIA’s move could threaten current investors and was detrimental to Yemen’s economy. It may force others to cancel their projects due to the fear that their investments are insecure.
In response, the SAGIA spokesman pointed out that the solution was to improve the investment climate in Yemen, which would then encourage businessmen to set up ventures there. There are other countries with more attractive investment opportunities than Yemen, he said.
“If any investor has a problem we try to help him resolve it, but if a businessman isn’t interested in investing in the country, it is unfair to allow him to monopolize the license and it should be granted to another investor,” the spokesman said.
The secretary general of the Yemeni Businessmen and Investors Council, Abdul-Salem Al-Athwari, has requested SAGIA to discuss the obstacles facing investors in carrying out their projects.
“The authority must improve the investment environment, not cause the loss of investment projects which contribute to our economic growth and development,” he said.
He added that Yemen has faced problems from some investors for not complying with the terms and conditions of their licenses. Some local investors have been granted licenses to set up investment projects, but failed to carry them out.
Others utilized their licenses to import materials for sale in the Yemeni market.
Between 1992 and 2006, there have been 60 Saudi investment projects carried out in Yemen, at a total cost of around YR229 billion ($1.2 billion). These projects created 5,088 jobs were created across all sectors. According to SAGIA, 26 of these were 100 percent owned by the investors.
Yemen will be hosting an international conference on investment opportunities in the country in February next year.
The date was finalized at the 5th meeting of the Joint Yemeni-Gulf Preparatory Committee for the conference, Mohammed Al-Maitami, head of the Yemeni side in the committee, said that the meeting aims to coordinate plans for promoting Yemen as an attractive investment destination for foreign and Gulf investors.
