Foreign investments hit $4.7 bln in 2019: Al-Qasabi

Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Saudi Arabia reached SAR 17.6 billion ($4.7 billion) in 2019, said Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid Al-Qasabi at a business forum in Al Baha region on Monday.

He added that the total FDI inflows increased by 10.2% year-on-year (YoY) during the first nine months of 2019, when compared to the same period last year.

Al-Qasabi called for attracting quality foreign investments to create job opportunities for Saudi youths.

Meanwhile, the business sector witnessed remarkable growth over the past five years, as the total number of institutions jumped 60% to 1.04 million by the end of 2019, compared to 650,000 in 2015.

In addition, commercial licenses grew 7% YoY to 1.2 million in 2019, while the number of companies rose 6.3% YoY to 168,000 last year.

Al-Qasabi further noted that the amendments of both the Anti-Concealment Law and Corporates Law will be released soon.