Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) announced the signing and exchange of 23 investment agreements at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, last month.

Totaling more than $15 billion in value, these agreements were exchanged by signatories in a dedicated ceremony held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh. Coordinated under Invest Saudi, these agreements reflect the enormous potential that Saudi Arabia offers to investors from across the kingdom and around the world, said a Saudi Press Agency report.

Commenting on the agreements, Ibrahim Al-Omar, Governor of Sagia, said: “As Saudi Arabia welcomes investors and decision-makers from across the globe to this annual global investment platform, the agreements exchanged here today reflect the strength and diversity of the economy. Under Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is undergoing an ambitious program of economic reform, and the world is taking notice. This month, Saudi Arabia climbed 30 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report, becoming the most improved economy globally. The indicators are clear: Saudi Arabia is not only open for business, it’s the economy of the future.”

These investments continute the positive momentum that Saudi Arabia has seen this year in terms of inward investment.

According to Invest Saudi’s Fall 2019 Investment Highlights report, which was launched on the sidelines of FII, over 250 overseas businesses were granted investor licenses Q3 2019. This marks a 30 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

In fact, 809 new foreign companies have established operations in Saudi Arabia, 67 per cent of which are for fully foreign ownership investments. This represents the highest number of foreign investor licenses issued by Sagia since 2010. These investments come alongside a broad series of economic reforms, which are enabling rapid growth in foreign investment in Saudi Arabia. According to the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, Saudi Arabia has moved up three positions to the 36th place, globally, through its efforts to diversify the kingdom’s economy.

Saudi Arabia also climbed 30 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business report, rising to 62nd place and becoming the most improved economy globally.