Foreign investment licenses in Saudi Arabia rise to 9,383 in Q1 2022

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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment issued 9,383 new investment licenses to foreign companies in the first quarter of 2022, a rise of 1,859% from 479 licenses a year earlier.

Foreign investors’ interest in the Kingdom hit a record level in Q1 2022, the highest increase for the seventh straight quarterly.

This impressive rise was supported by the government’s efforts to improve the investment environment, strengthening investor sentiment as global economies rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase in the number of companies choosing to establish their regional headquarters in Riyadh.

Excluding the licenses of companies that legalized their status, the total number of newly-issued licenses reached 1,215 in Q1 2022, up 154% compared to the year-earlier period.

The following table illustrates the number of foreign investment licenses issued since early 2016:

The wholesale and retail trade topped with the highest number of licenses with a surge of 7,612% compared to Q1 2021, due to strong consumer demand.

A total of 6,015 new licenses were awarded to new foreign investment projects in the sector during the three-month period, partially driven by the National Program for Combating Commercial Concealment regulation that allowed businesses to correct their status in the Kingdom.

Construction and manufacturing sectors came in the second place with 1,112 and 670 new licenses, respectively.