Saudi Family Businesses contribute to SAR810 (2$216 billion) of the country’s GDP, according to the Corporate Governance in Family Businesses Forum.
They constitute 63 percent of the corporations operating in the Kingdom, with 538,000 businesses.
The Forum was organized by Asharqia Chamber in Dammam in cooperation with the Institute of Directors in the GCC.
Family businesses have employed approximately 7.2 million, accounting for 52 percent of the country's labor force, said CEO of the National Center for Family Businesses Talal al-Ajlan.
He also talked during the forum about the contribution of family businesses to manpower recruitment.
Ajlan explained that the center currently is at its establishment phase and aims at highlighting and developing the family businesses’ role in economic and social development, enhancing their competitiveness and increasing their contribution to the GDP in order to achieve the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
The Forum was attended by International Corporate Governance and Board Development Consultant Prof. Bob Garratt, who affirmed that more than 90 percent of businesses worldwide are family businesses, adding that they achieve a growth rate of 10 percent per year, except for small businesses.
He pointed out that 84 percent of these businesses have common goals and values, and 63 percent look forward to carrying out major steps in developing a work mechanism towards digital transformation while 55 percent of these businesses have a fully documented strategic plan.
The Forum addressed a number of important topics of governance in family businesses, such as the legal and family aspects, the family charter and the succession plan as well as the content of the Ministry of Commerce’s guide for family businesses and the results of the PwC survey on family businesses in the Middle East and the world.
