Industry Minister calls on global firms to invest in downstream chemicals

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, urged leading global manufacturers to invest in the Kingdom’s downstream chemicals and advanced manufacturing, highlighting facilitation measures available to streamline their investment journey.

Alkhorayef was speaking at a roundtable with major industrial companies in Düsseldorf, held on the sidelines of Germany’s K Show 2025, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

He said Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals sector is rapidly shifting toward higher-value downstream conversion to maximize economic impact, adding that the Kingdom offers incentives and enablers to attract domestic and foreign capital into manufacturing.

The minister outlined Saudi Arabia’s competitive advantages, including skilled talent, a location bridging three continents, abundant natural resources, competitive energy prices, and advanced infrastructure and industrial cities—positioning the Kingdom as a compelling destination for industrial investment.

He also pointed to the broader economic and industrial transformation under Vision 2030 and the central role of industry in diversification, noting that the National Industrial Strategy is driving delivery of these targets.

Further, he highlighted the role of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Production in supporting industrial transformation through ministry initiatives to adopt automation and new technologies—such as the Future Factories Program (targeting the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies by 4,000 factories), the Industrial Lighthouses Program to help plants deploy cutting-edge tools and lift productivity, a national network of capability centers, and an operational excellence program.

The roundtable formed part of Alkhorayef’s official visit to Germany, where he is leading the industry and mining delegation to the international plastics and rubber trade fair, K Show, to deepen industrial partnerships, exchange expertise, transfer knowledge and technology, and attract high-quality investment.