Foreign and joint investments in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector hit $144bn

Foreign and joint investments in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector have reached more than 542 billion Saudi riyals ($144.53 billion) as the Arab world’s largest economy focuses on attracting more investments and diversifying its economy away from oil.

The total foreign and joint investments represent 37 per cent of the industrial sector’s total investments and 17 per cent of the kingdom’s existing factories until May this year, according to a Saudi Press Agency report.

The number of factories with foreign investments has amounted to 930, with investments worth more than 71 billion riyals, while the number of factories with joint investment totalled 924, with investments estimated at more than 470 billion riyals, the report said, citing data from the kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

Saudi Arabia, Opec’s top oil producer, is in the middle of a major economic diversification drive under its Vision 2030 agenda, amid a push to reduce its reliance on oil and tap into other high-growth industries to boost its economy, create more jobs and attract private investment.

In October, the Saudi government unveiled a National Industry Strategy, aimed at increasing the value of the kingdom's industrial exports to about $149 billion by 2030.

It is designed to attract investment in the industrial sector, boost economic diversification and increase non-oil exports.

The programme has identified 800 investment opportunities worth $266.2 billion to provide sustainable economic returns for the kingdom by 2030, authorities said.

Meanwhile, the total number of factories in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector has reached 10,910, with investments amounting to more than 1.455 trillion riyals, the SPA report said.

Saudi Arabia's economy expanded by 3.9 per cent in the first quarter on an annual basis, boosted by growth in its non-oil sector as the kingdom continues efforts to diversify its economy from hydrocarbons.

Non-oil activities grew 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the same quarter in 2022, while oil activities rose 1.3 per cent during the period, initial estimates released by Gastat this month showed.

The kingdom recorded the highest annual growth rate among the world’s 20 biggest economies in 2022, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Its economy expanded 8.7 per cent last year on higher oil prices and the strong performance of its non-oil private sector.