RIYADH — Saudi Arabia, in the fourth quarter of 2021, witnessed a 400% jump in issuance of investment licenses compared to the same quarter of the previous year, deputy minister for economic affairs and investment studies at the Ministry of Investment Dr. Saad Al-Shahrani said. According to Al-Arabiya, Dr. Al-Shahrani clarified on the sidelines of the Invest Saudi Forum at Expo Dubai 2020 that there are about 40 initiatives that have been launched by the National Investment Strategy (NIS) to support the legislative reforms in the investment environment in Saudi Arabia. The legislative reforms initiative aims at attracting foreign investments to the Kingdom, seeking to exceed $100 billion (SR388 billion) by 2030, he added. He indicated that Saudi Arabia's targeting of foreign investment flows to SR388 billion by 2030 would help make the National Investment Strategy to reach the targets and review them annually. Dr. Al-Shahrani emphasized that these targets are comprehensive to support important, promising and emerging sectors, which include tourism, entertainment, culture, sports, transportation, logistics, education and many more. It is noteworthy that the net foreign investment inflows have grown by more than 65% during the first three quarters of 2021. The National Investment Strategy seeks to make Saudi Arabia one of the 15 largest economies in the world, Dr. Al-Shahrani stated. He pointed out that it is also aims to reduce unemployment to less than 7% in the Kingdom by 2030 and to raise the contribution of the private sector to 65% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
