The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 30 new industrial licenses in July. The manufacturing of food products, molded metal products, and other nonmetallic metals each received three licenses, while the furniture industry activity received seven licenses, making it the recipient of the greatest number of licenses. According to a report released by the Ministry's National Center for Industrial and Mining Information, the total number of industrial licenses issued by the Ministry since the beginning of this year until the end of July reached 531. On the other hand, the number of existing and under-establishment factories in the Kingdom as of the end of the same month reached 10,685, with an investment volume of SR1.367 trillion. The report pointed out that the new industrial license investments totaled SR973 million for the month of July. Small businesses accounted for most of these investments 86.67%, followed by medium-sized enterprises 13.33%. National factories recorded the highest share of all licenses issued by investment type 73.33%, followed by foreign businesses 20% and businesses with joint investments 6.67%. The National Center for Industrial and Mining Information reported that 22 factories started production in July with an investment of SR548 million, the majority of which were food factories totaling 9, followed by paper factories totaling 4 and nonmetallic metal factories totaling 4. Production also started in two molded metal factories and one factory for beverage, furniture, and chemical activities. Joint-capital factories came in second with 4.55%, and national factories made up the remaining 95.45%. According to the report, the new industrial licenses were distributed among five administrative districts, with the Riyadh region receiving the most 15 licenses — followed by the Eastern Province, which had seven licenses, the Makkah region, which had six, and the Qassim and Medina regions, which each had one license. The most significant industrial indicators that show the type of industrial activity in the Kingdom, the degree of change in new industrial investments, and the number of jobs provided by the sector are released monthly by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources through the national center for industrial and mining information. — SG
