The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has issued 124 new industrial licences which brought in investments worth SR2.4 billion ($640 million) during the month of January 2023. 

 

The licences were distributed across five industrial categories, with 29 licences issued for food manufacturing, 18 for non-metallic mineral production, 12 for manufacturing chemicals and chemical products, 11 for metal product manufacturing (excluding machinery and equipment) and 8 for the manufacturing of rubber and plastic products.

 

Data from the Ministry indicated that small businesses acquired 86% of new industrial licences, medium-sized enterprises 11%, and micro-sized businesses 2.5%. Overall, national factories hold 80% of all licences, followed by foreign establishments which hold 10.5% of licences, and joint investment establishments which hold 10%.

 

10,633 units worth SR1.4 trillion

Of these, 164 factories started production in January 2023 with an investment of SR2.7 billion. National factories accounted for 89% of this total, followed by foreign-owned factories at 7%, and joint factories at 4%. Non-metallic metal factories took the lead with 32 factories, followed by 31 food factories, 21 fabricated metal factories, 18 rubber and plastics factories and 12 chemical factories.

 

The new industrial licences mentioned in the report were distributed across 12 administrative regions, led by the Riyadh region with 44 factories, followed by the Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the Eastern Province with 24 factories for each region, then the Qassim region with 10 factories, the Madinah region with 8 factories, the Jizan region with 5 factories, and the Asir region with 3 factories, the Hail region with two factories, the Northern Borders region, Tabuk, Al-Jouf, and Najran, with one factory for each region.-- TradeArabia News Service