Industry Ministry issues 86 licenses at SAR 2.3B in April

Logo of The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 86 new industrial licenses last April, at a total investment value of nearly SAR 2.3 billion, according to a statement today, July 7.

The new licenses covered a number of industrial activities, with 17 licenses issued in non-metallic mineral products, eight in the food production sector, seven in the manufacturing of casting metals, six in the manufacturing of chemical products, and six for the paper products.

The new industrial licenses were distributed among 10 administrative regions, topped by Riyadh with 36 factories, then Makkah (22), Eastern Province (17), Madinah (3), Qassim (2), Hail (2), Najran (1), Aseer (1), Al-Jouf (1) and Tabuk (1).

Small enterprises received the majority of new licenses in April, accounting for 80.23% of the total. Medium-sized enterprises came in second with 13.95%. The national factories led the way in terms of investment type, receiving 100% of the new licenses.

National factories constituted 92.54% of the total plants that commenced actual production in April 2024, followed by joint-investment plants and foreign factories at 5.97% and 1.49%, respectively.

The ministry said that 67 factories started actual production in the same month, with a total investment of SAR 1.51 billion. Food products ranked first (12), followed by chemical industries (11), then rubber and plastics (10), base metal products, casting metals and non-metallic mineral products with five factories each.

The total number of industrial licenses issued by the ministry in the first four months of the year stood at 410. The number of existing and under-construction factories reached 11,868 by month-end, with total investments of SAR 1.38 trillion, the ministry added.