Foreign businesses in Saudi Arabia jump 54% in 2019, says SAGIA

New foreign companies setting up operations in Saudi Arabia climbed by 54% year-on-year (YoY) to 1,131 businesses in 2019 – the largest increase in 10 years, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) said in a recent report.

The fourth quarter of 2019 proved to be the busiest period of the year, with the number of new foreign companies increasing to 305 from 238 in Q4 2018.
 

The new companies established in 2019 represent a diverse range of global markets, with 100 companies from the United Kingdom (UK) and 82 companies from the United States in 2019 compared to 24 for both countries a year earlier.

India’s share of the market significantly increased from 30 companies in 2018 to 140 in 2019.

Out of the new foreign companies setting up in Saudi Arabia in 2019, 69% represented full foreign ownership while 31% were joint venture partnerships with local investors.

On sector level, construction accounted for the largest number of licenses with 193. It was followed by manufacturing and ICT, with 190 and 178 licenses respectively.

SAGIA’s report was issued under the Invest Saudi brand to promote the Kingdom’s competitive and open business environment.