JEDDAH: Under Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Program (NTP), the government intends to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) from the current SR8 billion to SR70 billion a year by 2020.
According to the 112-page NTP document released by the government on Monday, the rate of FDI in the region is around SR45 billion a year. The plan is to exceed this by almost 56 percent in the Kingdom.
The NTP document states that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) would improve the regulatory environment to encourage investments. The authority would also be working on reducing the time needed to obtain visas for expatriate workers from 30 days to 10 days, and cutting the time to obtain a license to start working from 19 days to just one day.
The aim is to raise Saudi Arabia’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index from the current ranking of 25 to 20 over the next five years, and a radical improvement in the Kingdom’s World Bank Index of Ease of Doing Business ranking from 82 to 20.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued a decree in September 2015 opening the door for foreigners to invest in the country, including on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange. SAGIA announced on June 3 that it was accepting offers from multinational companies.
According to the NTP, SAGIA has the task of developing and executing various plans including localizing construction material and equipment industries, localizing the transportation and logistical services sector, establishing the National Competitiveness Center, and setting up the Integrated Electronic Service Center, including developing SAGIA’s technical infrastructure and improving all investor services and reports.
SAGIA also has the task of localizing the health care industry and services sector, establishing a comprehensive framework to enhance local content, drafting laws for targeted sectors to improve performance, setting up a national program for enhancing competitiveness, establishing a separate government agency to manage and execute the Kingdom’s mega projects, launching a unified permit for foreign investors, and executing the National Investment Plan.
The details of the SR268-billion NTP were approved late Monday by the Cabinet, chaired by King Salman. The NTP is part of Vision 2030, being spearheaded by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs chaired by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The plan for the next five years is to triple revenue from non-oil sources, reduce water and electricity subsidies, cut public sector salaries and ensure a greater involvement of the private sector in the economy, as part of a long-term initiative to reduce the country’s dependence on oil.
According to the 112-page NTP document released by the government on Monday, the rate of FDI in the region is around SR45 billion a year. The plan is to exceed this by almost 56 percent in the Kingdom.
The NTP document states that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) would improve the regulatory environment to encourage investments. The authority would also be working on reducing the time needed to obtain visas for expatriate workers from 30 days to 10 days, and cutting the time to obtain a license to start working from 19 days to just one day.
The aim is to raise Saudi Arabia’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index from the current ranking of 25 to 20 over the next five years, and a radical improvement in the Kingdom’s World Bank Index of Ease of Doing Business ranking from 82 to 20.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued a decree in September 2015 opening the door for foreigners to invest in the country, including on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange. SAGIA announced on June 3 that it was accepting offers from multinational companies.
According to the NTP, SAGIA has the task of developing and executing various plans including localizing construction material and equipment industries, localizing the transportation and logistical services sector, establishing the National Competitiveness Center, and setting up the Integrated Electronic Service Center, including developing SAGIA’s technical infrastructure and improving all investor services and reports.
SAGIA also has the task of localizing the health care industry and services sector, establishing a comprehensive framework to enhance local content, drafting laws for targeted sectors to improve performance, setting up a national program for enhancing competitiveness, establishing a separate government agency to manage and execute the Kingdom’s mega projects, launching a unified permit for foreign investors, and executing the National Investment Plan.
The details of the SR268-billion NTP were approved late Monday by the Cabinet, chaired by King Salman. The NTP is part of Vision 2030, being spearheaded by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs chaired by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The plan for the next five years is to triple revenue from non-oil sources, reduce water and electricity subsidies, cut public sector salaries and ensure a greater involvement of the private sector in the economy, as part of a long-term initiative to reduce the country’s dependence on oil.
