New Saudi regulations and legislation have recently contributed to raising the number of factory licenses in the Kingdom. The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 68 new licenses in November, with investments amounting to 735 million riyals (USD 196 million), recording an estimated monthly increase of 14 percent compared to October.
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar AlKhorayef said the reforms undertaken over the past two years were bearing fruit with the continuation of positive indicators and the rise in the number of factories that started production.
A report issued by the ministry’s National Center for Industrial and Mining Information revealed that the total number of existing factories in the Kingdom until the end of November reached around 10,200.
Small factories accounted for 89 percent of the number of new industrial licenses during the past month, followed by medium enterprises with 8.7 percent.
National factories represented around 90 percent of the total new factories, while foreign investment recorded nearly 5 percent of these licenses, according to the report.
With regard to the activity of factories that started production in November, minerals accounted for 10 factories, followed by food products with eight.
The report stated that the industrial sector provided 2,383 jobs over the past month.
The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, through the National Center for Industrial Information, publishes a monthly report on the most important industrial indicators, including the nature of the activity in the Kingdom, the size of new investments and jobs provided by the sector.
