Saudi Arabia recorded 101 investment deals worth more than $4 billion in the first quarter of the year, reflecting the “competitiveness” of the kingdom's economy, the Ministry of Investment said on Tuesday.
The deals are expected to create more than 5,800 new jobs in the domestic economy as the kingdom aims to present new investment opportunities in various sectors, the ministry said in its Investment Highlights report.
The investments cover a range of sectors including entrepreneurship, advanced manufacturing, defence, information and communications technology, petrochemicals and conversion industries.
“The high level of investor interest and strong momentum in the economy reflects how successful Saudi Arabia’s long-term economic vision has been in unlocking opportunities for investors,” said Khalid Al Falih, the kingdom’s Minister of Investment.
“As we look ahead, the National Investment Strategy will help us to accelerate this process — enabling Saudi and international investors to play a major role in one of the world’s most unique and exciting opportunities,” Mr Al Falih said.
The Arab world’s biggest economy recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, with the rally in oil prices further boosting its growth this year.
The gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil-exporting country, grew an annual 10.4 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia posted a budget surplus of 57.49bn Saudi riyals ($15.33bn) during the first quarter of this year as revenue rose 36 per cent to 278bn riyals, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement last month.
Economic growth was “supported by increased oil and non-oil activities, as oil production strengthened and receded pandemic pressures reignited domestic demand”, the investment ministry's report said.
The kingdom's industrial production index jumped for the 11th straight month in March to reach the highest level since April 2020. With a 24.8 per cent increase compared to March 2021, industrial production recorded the most significant rise in the last three years, the report found.
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment
One of the significant deals announced in the first quarter was the $3.4bn investment by US-based Lucid Motors to set up an electric vehicle factory in Saudi Arabia.
Lucid Motors, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, said its new factory in the kingdom will have a production capacity of 155,000 units a year.
Its new facility is expected to address growing demand for EVs by increasing Lucid’s global production capacity to 500,000 EVs per year in the coming years, the company said.
“Saudi Arabia is … strategically located, accessible from three continents with just a short flight. Therefore, from the country we will be able to service Europe and Mena [Middle East and North Africa],” Peter Rawlinson, chief executive and chief technology officer of Lucid Motors, said in the Investment Highlights report.
The kingdom supports “Lucid’s core objective of providing our electric vehicles and sustainable mobility to as many markets as possible”, he added.
Saudi Arabia also recorded a surge in foreign direct investment in 2021 to $19.3bn, the highest in 10 years, the investment ministry said in a March report.
The cumulative amount of FDI was up 257 per cent annually last year, with the second half of the year showing a 23.7 per cent year-on-year increase.
