RIYADH — The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has issued 99 industrial licenses, with investments amounting to SR20.1 billion during the month of May 2023. These licenses are distributed over six activities, of which 16 licenses were issued in food manufacturing sector. According to the report of the National Industrial and Mining Information Center, the total number of industrial licenses issued by the ministry from the beginning of January until the end of April 2023 reached 484. The number of factories that are existing and under various phases of construction in the Kingdom until the end of April reached 10,966, with a volume of investments worth SR1.474 trillion. Small enterprises acquired most of the new industrial licenses, reaching 88.89 percent, followed by medium enterprises by 10.10 percent, and then micro enterprises by 1.01 percent. The Saudi national factories recorded the largest percentage of the total licenses issued according to the type of investment by 73.74 percent, followed by foreign enterprises with 15.15 percent, and then those with joint investment by 11.11 percent. The report indicated that the factories that started production during May amounted to 98 factories, with total investments of SR3.3 billion, led by non-metallic minerals factories with 18 factories, then shaped minerals with 12 factories, 11 food factories, 10 factories in the manufacture of rubber and plastics, and finally nine factories for furniture. Among the total factories that started production, the national factories accounted for 83.67 percent, followed by joint-investment factories and foreign-invested factories that stood at 8.16 percent.
