“The government gives free land and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) provides the funds required for industrial projects, initiated by individuals or groups,” Bafakih pointed out.
He made these remarks in his keynote address at the opening of the Second Annual CFO Strategies Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.
He called on young Saudi entrepreneurs to take advantage of new investment channels to create more job opportunities.
They also should consider moving into remote areas to achieve better returns from their projects, he said.
Bafakih suggested that young entrepreneurs should shun traditional enterprises and turn to manufacturing consumer items that are popular inside the Kingdom and in the region.
Talking about the authority’s future activities, he said MODON would have an area of 150 million sq. meters of land for industrial development by 2015.
Currently, he said, MODON had 75 million sq. meters, which included the Sudair Industrial City (SIC) situated close to the capital.
A major railway line passes through the city, providing an easy route for manufacturers to transport their products and raw materials.
He also said MODON has a large area in Salwa, where it could rent lands for industrial purposes at SR2 per sq. meter.
The Annual CFO strategies Forum, sponsored by Naseba, focused on the theme ‘CFO’s rising above the Financials.’ “The forum is a crucial forum and timely gathering of the Kingdom’s top Chief Financial Officers, Finance Directors and other financial decision makers,” a spokesman from Naseba said.
The keynote speakers scheduled to address the delegates during the two-day session include Dr. Said Al-Shaikh, group chief economist of the National Commercial Bank; Abdulrahman Bin Moulay Al-Bizioui, Group CFO of the Fawaz Al-Hokair Group; Paul Gamble, head of research Jadwa Investment; Ahmed Mohammed Al Jogaiman, CFO of the Saudi Electricity Company; and Abdullah H. Fozan, chairman of KPMG Saudi Arabia.
