Ministry of Industry issues 60 new industrial licenses, 90 factories start production in October

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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 60 new industrial licenses in October 2021, with investments exceeding SAR 1.5 billion. Thus, the investments increased by nearly 0.18% compared with the previous month.

Meanwhile, a total of 90 factories started operation in October, with investments of more than SAR 2.2 billion, the ministry said in in a statement.

It added the total number of licensed workers at the factories amounted to 4,000, 65% of which was dominated by small factories.
 

According to a report by the National Industrial Development Center (NIDC), the total number of outstanding factories in the Kingdom until the end of October 2021 reached about 10,216, up 0.23% month-on-month (MoM). Meanwhile, the total volume of investments in the industrial sector reached SAR 1.33 trillion.
 

The industrial sector contributed to the employment of 8,630 workers in October, of whom 3,194 are Saudi, an increase of 1.8% MoM. Meanwhile, the number of expats working at the factories reached 5,436, and the number of persons licensed to operate in the newly-licensed factories stood at 1,701.
 

According to the report, the food industry dominated the largest portion of the new licenses, with 10 licenses. It was followed by the formed metal product manufacture, with nine licenses. The non-metal product industry came third, with seven licenses, followed by the manufacture of rubber and plastics products.
 

The small factories accounted for 83% of the total number of new industrial licenses in October. The rate of foreign investments increased by 8.3%.