RIYADH — The executive regulation of the Competition and Government Procurement Law, which gives priority to local content, small and medium enterprises and listed companies, came into force on Dec. 1 and is applicable to all government entities in addition to companies that do business on behalf of government agencies. Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for the Cabinet approval of the regulation. Al-Jadaan said the regulation is the output of cooperation among the Ministry of Finance, the Spending Efficiency Achievement Center, and the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, in addition to a number of relevant authorities. "The regulation is aimed at making available opportunities to the private sector through new procurement mechanism and methods that will give priority to local content, with SMEs being given a 10 percent price advantage in business and service contracts, which do not fall within the scope of high value contracts," he said. The minister stressed that the local content aims to develop local potentials and create job opportunities and increase gross domestic product (GDP). "The inclusion of local content requirements in the new law would contribute to the enhancement of local capabilities and products, giving priority and price preference to Saudi products, in addition to giving preference to listed companies in the financial market," he said while pointing out that this would be an incentive to family companies to list in the financial market to preserve and protect their future, and thus developing their contribution to the GDP. Al-Jadaan said that there will be a uniform portal for the local content evaluation and it will have an important role in digitalizing government transactions. "The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority is working on issuing a list of national products to be purchased from Saudi manufacturers," he added.
