Saudi Arabia Offers Incentives for Business Projects

A Saudi official from the Ministry of Investment confirmed that the Riyadh government offers a comprehensive system of investment incentives and facilities, which includes foreign and local investors, as well as Saudis who wish to invest abroad, in order to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position as a regional and global investment attraction. Deputy Minister of Investment Musaed Al-Dubaikhi revealed to Al Arabiya.net that the Ministry’s Investment Incentives Committee is an independent committee that reviews each investment project individually to determine its eligibility for support. He stressed that viable projects with returns of up to 9% benefit from financial incentives to increase their attractiveness, while support is up to 15%. In the same context, he stressed that the mission of the Saudi Ministry of Investment is not limited to attracting foreign investors, but rather to assist Saudi investors, both in Saudi Arabia and abroad. He explained that they have managed to solve the problems of Saudi investors in some countries. The Deputy Minister of Investment also reviewed the incentives offered to investors in some sectors, such as mining, which grants investors an exploration incentive worth 4 million riyals per license, to be used for capital expenditure for exploration activities. In the tourism sector, he explained that the “Hospitality Incentives” program is being tested in 10 cities, which includes tax reimbursement and the value of rent on state-owned land. After the adoption of the national tourism strategy, this experiment will be extended to the rest of the regions and “we hope to include Najran” (a city in southern Saudi Arabia).