Saudi industrial investments amounted to SR1.73 trillion ($460.3 billion) in August, up 0.17 per cent compared to the previous month, official data showed.
The total number of existing factories reached 10,707, an increase of 0.21 per cent within a month, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ monthly bulletin. Moreover, the number of workers in the industrial sector reached about 1.054 million, while the number of mining licences in force in the sector at the end of August reached 2,159.
These included 1,367 quarrying licences for building materials, 558 exploration licences, and 168 exploitation licences, in addition to 37 exploration licences and 29 licences for surplus mineral ores. The ministry authorised up to 646 new industrial licences with investments totalling SR18 billion between January 2022 and the end of August.
Investment Surge in Production Operations
About 811 factories started production operations during the same period with investments amounting to SR22.4 billion, while the industrial sector provided more than 35,000 job opportunities. There were 115 new licences issued in August, with investments amounting to SR4.1 billion, bringing the number of workers to 3,272.
The food products industry acquired the largest number of new licences in August, with 21 licences, followed by the chemicals and chemical products industry with 14 licences. Formed metal products, excluding machinery and equipment, followed with 13 licences, followed by the furniture industry, and the rubber and plastics products industry with 10 licenses each.
The capital, Riyadh, acquired 41 new licences in August, followed by the Eastern Province with 26, Makkah with 22, and Al Madinah with 8 licences. Qassim followed with seven licences, Asir with four, then Tabuk and Hail with three licences each, while the Jizan region obtained one licence.
Support for Small & Medium Enterprises in Mining
The number of factories that started production last August reached 68 factories with investments estimated at SR2.4 billion, and the number of workers reached 2,587. The Minister of Industry and Mining Resources, Bandar Al-Korayef, told Reuters on Friday that Saudi Arabia considers a new mining index in a diversification push.
“The idea is to help the sector grow faster. We definitely see a need for small and medium firms in the sector to access capital through capital markets,” he said. Al-Khorayef is at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney this week to drum up investment interest.
The minister already announced on Wednesday at the same conference that the Kingdom plans to award over a dozen mining exploration licences to international investors. It looks set to enter the mining sector in a big way to diversify away from hydrocarbons.
Five new exploration sites are up for licensing, and the Kingdom will release details of an additional 10 opportunities next year, the minister said in a speech. More than 145 licences have been issued so far, and the country has seen a 27 per cent year-on-year growth in its mining revenue, the minister said. “We have an ambitious strategy to attract investments worth $32 billion to the mining and mineral sector. So this is only the beginning,” he added.
