Saudi Arabia offers ample investment opportunities, with mining, infrastructure, higher education and telecommunication topping the list, Value Partners – a leading global management consulting firm – said recently. The most significant opportunity for private investment is mining, the report said. “Previously, the mining sector had not been given due attention, but now there are a lot of mining investments taking place in the government and the private sector in phosphates, iron ore, and aluminum,” said Santino Saguto, partner, Value Partners. Following a recent study on Saudi Arabia's economy, the management consulting firm have identified a number of business opportunities within the private sector in the Kingdom. Other areas increasingly receiving private investments include infrastructure. This includes 3,500km of new railroad routes being built, as well as associated services, water desalination, power generation, and higher education. The telecommunication sector has also opened up to competition in both mobile and, increasingly, fixed line sectors. According to the study by Value Partners, two key incentives which contribute to the increase in private investment include tax incentives following the reduction of tax rates from 45 percent to 20 percent; and the law that enables foreigners to own 100 percent of businesses in Saudi Arabia. “These two steps have made conducting business in the country much easier for foreign companies and my understanding is that further incentives are currently being planned for investors in developing economic cities,” Saguto noted. With a population of around 28 million and a GDP of over $480 billion, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest and richest countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Holding a quarter of the world's known oil reserves and 13 percent of global production, it is the world's leading producer and exporter of oil, the report added. Usamah Al-Kurdi, the company's partner in Saudi Arabia, said “there are plenty of business opportunities within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and it has been affected very little by the economic downturn with one of the overriding reasons being the availability of cash within the country. With the government encouraging the growth of the private sector, it is a great opportunity for Value partners to use their consulting expertise to advise investors on how to strategically allocate their funds.” He added that “in recent years, the Kingdom's government has been making concerted efforts to diversify its economy and minimize its reliance on oil as the sole source of government revenue, at the same time increasing employment opportunities for the growing Saudi population and bringing about reforms on economic, political and social levels.” Value Partners has been operational in the Kingdom since 2004.
