ABHA — Minister of Commerce Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi said that there has been a significant growth of 133 percent in the rate of limited liability companies in Saudi Arabia, with a total of 462,000 commercial registrations of such companies. He also noted that the commercial registrations of joint-stock companies recorded a growth of 48 percent reaching more than 4,300. The minister made the remarks while addressing a meeting of businessmen, businesswomen, entrepreneurs, and investors during his visit to the southern Asir region. Al-Qasabi said that the Asir region has more than 90,000 commercial registrations and these make up 5.2 percent of the total commercial registrations that reached 1.7 million. He said that the total number of commercial registrations for businesses in the Kingdom recorded a growth of 9 percent over the last five years reaching 1.2 million. During the meeting, Al-Qasabi expressed his happiness to visit the Asir region and meet with the business community. "We are experiencing an unprecedented transformation thanks to the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and its inspiring leader, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman," he said. Referring to the vast potential of the Asir region, he said: "Asir is a magical, attractive landscape that needs to be marketed so people can appreciate its beauty and breathtaking nature. It combines the sea, the Tihama plain, the mountains, the desert, and all the natural elements that attract tourism." He shed light on the promising sectors that have registered growth in Asir, most notably logistics services, freight and unloading services, light transportation, and the operation of storage facilities, among others. Al-Qasabi emphasized that e-commerce is witnessing significant growth, reaching 29 percent of total consumer retail payments. More than 87 million shipments were recorded in 2024, while 60 percent of internet users in the Kingdom made online purchases in 2023. Referring to the growth in the commercial legislation system, the minister said: "In the process of strengthening the legislative system, more than 110 pieces of legislation have been reviewed and developed over the past few years, most notably regulations for companies, franchises, e-commerce, the commercial registry, and trade names," he said while drawing attention to the development of market rules to protect consumers, monitor prices, combat fraud and commercial cover-up, and develop a system and strategy for consumer protection. He said that combating commercial cover-up (tasattur) is an integrated effort among government agencies. "An electronic system has been developed to report suspected cover-up cases and direct inspection teams using data and suspicious indicators," he said. Al-Qasabi said that the National Competitiveness Center is making integrated efforts with more than 65 government agencies, in partnership with the private sector, to implement more than 900 economic reforms and recommendations that have enhanced business competitiveness. "Twenty branches of the Saudi Business Center have been established in 15 cities and governorates to facilitate the start-up and operation of businesses. A knowledge center, represented by the National Competitiveness Center, has also been established in partnership with the World Bank to disseminate a culture of competitiveness," he said while emphasizing the continuation of work on five axes to empower small and medium enterprises, namely access to finance, spreading the culture of entrepreneurship, support services, financing, and access to markets. Al-Qasabi also held a meeting with the Board of Directors of the Abha Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting discussed the Chamber's strategy aimed at "enhancing financial sustainability" and its future plans to diversify sources of income and rationalize expenditures.
