Saudi Arabia issued 59 industrial licenses in May

Saudi Arabia had 10,070 industrial establishments at the end of May, 2021. (Shutterstock)

• New licences increased from 33 in the same period in 2020
• 97 percent of licenses were issued to national companies

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia issued 59 new industrial licenses in May to companies with capital of SR532 million ($141.8 million), compared with 33 in the same period last year, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources said in a statement on Wednesday.
A report issued by the National Center for Industrial Information showed that 97 percent of the total industrial licenses issued were for national companies, while small factories accounted for nearly 75 percent of the new licenses.
Food manufacturing was the largest sector, accounting for 17 percent of the new licenses.
Riyadh was the most common location for new industrial licenses in May, with 22, followed by the Eastern Province with 12 licenses. Makkah saw 15 new factories open last month, accounting for 76 percent of the total.
Last month witnessed the provision of 6,753 job opportunities in the Saudi industrial sector, 60 percent of which were for Saudi citizens.
Existing industrial establishments in Saudi Arabia reached 10,070 at the end of May, with a total investment of SR1.134 trillion, according to the report of the National Center for Industrial Information.