[caption id="attachment_75655" align="alignleft" width="234"] Market expects the state to raise three times more revenue from roadside advertisements following the Cabinet decision to hike fees for the service. — File photo[/caption]JEDDAH – The recent Cabinet decision to hike advertisement fees will increase state revenue from roadside billboards by three times, said Abdullah Al-Fahd, owner of an advertising company, adding that the fee hike would have little negative impact on the commercial sector. Speaking to Al-Hayat Arabic daily, he described the advertisement sector as one of the pillars of the national economy. "With technological advancement, the advertising sector has gained importance and its revenue has been on the increase with the passage of time," he added. Barakat Hussein, owner of Makkah Printing Company, said the advertisement sector has been providing big support to the Saudi market. "The Cabinet decision to increase advertisement fees would have a negative impact on business firms. At the same time, it will bring additional revenue to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the national coffers," he explained. Ahmed Hassaan, an investor in the sector, estimated the Riyadh mayoralty's revenue from advertisement to SR277 million in a single year. The mayoralties in Jeddah and Dammam receive almost the same amount or more, he added. Hassaan estimated the total income received by the government from roadside advertisement at more than SR3 billion. The Cabinet decision would not have any negative impact on advertising companies though the cost of printing and materials has increased, he said. Khaled Al-Nasser, executive director of a media company, highlighted the increasing prospects of the advertisement sector, which is closely linked with business and investment projects. "It's a promising and profitable business sector. Television channels, newspapers and the Internet would not have any negative impact on roadside advertising," he pointed out. He said advertisements help potential customers to know the various products and services being offered and marketed by companies. The increase in customers will increase their profits. "During the past three years, the advertising sector in the Kingdom rose by 20 percent," Al-Nasser said. The Cabinet decision changed Article 3 of the country's advertisement law, increasing the fee for billboards on roadsides from SR100 to SR600 for every square meter or part of it. The fees for electronic billboards will be determined by the prime minister on the basis of the concerned minister's recommendation. The new law covers all billboards including those erected on private properties, near traffic signals and in the vicinity of bus stands, seaports, airports and railway stations. Billboards of sports cities and playgrounds as well as advertisements on jerseys have been exempted from the law, the paper said.
