Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—Saudi Arabia has issued permits for non-oil industrial projects worth $1.1 billion in August.
The licenses issued in August were for chemicals, metals, machinery, furniture, home appliances and other light-medium products.
Around 115 licenses were issued for non-oil industrial projects — 20 percent higher than those issued in July.
Those issued in August brought the total number of non-oil industrial permits granted by MIMR since the beginning of 2022 to 646.
While 85 percent of the projects issued with permits were owned by locals, the remaining 15 percent were owned by foreigners or as joint ventures.
MIMR saw an investment volume of SR13.7 billion as it issued 501 new industrial licenses during the first six months of 2022.
During the same period, 721 factories started production, attracting investments amounting to SR19.10 billion, the ministry’s monthly bulletin showed.
This brought the total volume of investments in the industrial sector until June to SR1.36 trillion, with a total of 10,675 factories.