THE SAUDI ARABIAN GENERAL INVESTMENTS AUTHORITY (SAGIA) HAS ANNOUNCED A REMARKABLE FLOW OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS INTO THE KINGDOM IN THE LAST THREE YEARS. IT NOTED THAT THE VOLUME OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN 2006 AMOUNTED TO SR 68.6 BILLION, WHILE THE VOLUME OF THE DOMESTIC INVESTMENTS AMOUNTED TO ABOUT SR 125 BILLION IN THE SAME YEAR. DR AWAD AL-AWAD, THE UNDERSECRETARY OF THE GOVERNOR OF SAGIA, SAID SAGIA HAS BEEN PERIODICALLY EVALUATING THE INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT IN THE KINGDOM AND CONDUCTING THE REQUIRED STUDIES AND RESEARCHES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INVESTMENTS IN COOPERATION WITH THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CENTERS LIKE THE WORLD BANK. DR AL-AWAD POINTED OUT THAT THE KINGDOM HAS CONTINUED TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS FROM COUNTRIES LIKE THE US, , JAPAN AND THE EUROPEAN UNION . DR AL-AWAD SAID IN 2006 THE BIGGEST PORTION OF THE FOREIGN INVESTMENTS WERE DIRECTED TO THE INDUSTRY OF ENERGY AND ITS DERIVATIVES. 'TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT THE KINGDOM HAS THE GREATEST AND MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMY IN THE REGION, IT WILL NOT BE A STRANGE MATTER IF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS FLOW INTO THE COUNTRY', HE SAID. DR AL-AWAD NOTED THAT THE DECISION OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY TO REDUCE THE COST OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPANIES WILL POSITIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING THE NUMBER OF INVESTMENT COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY, AND WILL LEAD TO DOUBLING THE LOCAL INVESTMENTS, NOTABLY THE SMALL AND MEDIUM PROJECTS AS WELL AS IN THE INDUSTRIES BASED ON TECHNOLOGY.
