Saudi Arabia has long been recognized as a powerhouse of the Middle East. Now’s it’s poised to become one of the world’s top 10 most competitive nations and with that, one of the most lucrative markets for strategic investment.
Since it was founded by His Majesty King Abdul-Aziz bin Abdurrahman Al-Saud, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made remarkable achievements in all areas of development; economic, social, political and cultural. The robust and consistent base provided by his Majesty served as a starting point for the development process and ensured continuity for more than a century, contributing to upgrading economic growth, raising living standards, improving quality of life, and providing work opportunities for citizens. These advances have been based on quantitative expansion and qualitative enhancement of educational services, training, healthcare, social services, infrastructure, communications, and municipal services; all within the framework of a genuine partnership between the public and private sectors working together for the delivery of programs and plans, designed to effect balanced and sustainable development across the regions.
Saudi Arabia offers a dynamic and robust economy, perfect for serving the world’s most demanding markets.
The Kingdom is investing massively to enhance its value proposition to foreign businesses, both with infrastructure and with reform. With an aim to become one of the world’s Top 10 most competitive economies, the organs of government have initiated a multi-faceted reform strategy that has made the Kingdom one of the easiest places in the world to do business.
Foreign investment
The variety of domestic and export-oriented investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia has attracted steadily increasing foreign direct investment as the economy has been progressively opened. Saudi Arabia’s rapid improvements have made the country an increasingly attractive destination for investment. The World Investment Report measured Saudi Arabia’s FDI inflows to be the 12th largest in the world and the highest amount in the MENA region.
Economic stability
Sound macroeconomic management and an inflection point in world energy markets have made the KSA’s economy stable, despite the global financial crisis. While much of the world economy has recently been affected by a global liquidity squeeze, Saudi Arabia’s twin surpluses in the government budget and current account have made KSA an attractive, high-liquidity environment for local and foreign ventures.
Market size
As the region’s largest economy and the world’s 19th largest, the sheer size of the markets that Saudi-based projects serve is “a competitive advantage, allowing Saudi businesses to benefit from economies of scale.” With excellent access to Saudi and other MENA markets, as well as the advanced and emerging economies of nearby Europe and Asia, market exposure for Saudi-based projects is not only vast but also highly diversified.
Cluster development
Investors in Saudi Arabia enjoy increasingly well-developed business clusters and value chains that set the nation apart from its neighbors and from other emerging economies. The World Economic Forum ranks the Kingdom 26th for both Value Chain Breadth and Production Process Sophistication.
Well established, competitive and efficient, Saudi Arabia’s domestic industries—from energy and chemicals to transportation—provide industrial projects with exceptional opportunities for cost savings.
Other Good reasons to invest in KSA
-Saudi Arabia is the region’s largest ICT market with strong growth in consumer and enterprise and markets.
-Deregulation, privatization and WTO accession promoting private-sector opportunities—supported by significant investment incentives
-Public-private partnerships supporting venture capital funding such as recent collaboration between Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority(SAGIA) and Intel
-Strong commitment to e-commerce and e-governance initiatives (including IP protection)
-Significant unmet demands for web-based and mobile services; increased enterprise and government usage of web-based services provide large-scale opportunities for contractors and service providers
-Massive public investment in connectivity for Economic Cities provides unique opportunities for green-field projects covering millions of users
-Public investment in computer and Internet literacy programs
By Lee Jun-seung
