Saudi Crown Prince launches National Investment Strategy

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced the launch of the National Investment Strategy (NIS).

The NIS will contribute to the growth and diversification of the kingdom’s economy, which, in turn, will achieve many Vision 2030’s goals, including raising the private sector’s contribution to GDP to 65 per cent; increasing the contribution of FDI to GDP to 5.7 per cent; increasing the contribution of non-oil exports to GDP from 16 to 50 per cent; and reducing the unemployment rate to 7 per cent, a statement said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the National Investment Strategy’s launch: “Today, the kingdom embarks on a new investment era to empower Saudi and international private-sector investors with more and better opportunities. Investment is without a doubt one of the main routes for us to achieve the ambitions and aspirations of Vision 2030, among them economic development, diversification and sustainability; technology transfer and localisation; infrastructure development; better quality of life; job opportunities and the upskilling of our human resources, leaving a legacy of prosperity for future generations.”

“The National Investment Strategy is all about empowering investors, offering investment opportunities, providing financing solutions and enhancing competitiveness. It also clarifies the partnership between the public and private sectors, as our mission is now to open the door to the private sector and allow it to grow and prosper.”

The NIS will draw up comprehensive investment plans for sectors, including manufacturing, renewable energy, transport and logistics, tourism, digital infrastructure, and health care, he added.

HRH Crown Prince Launches the National Investment Strategy, A Key Enabler to Deliver On Vision 2030.https://t.co/Y3K11OO34Q#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/5DufoVhnBG

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) October 11, 2021

The strategy includes several initiatives such as establishing special economic zones with incentives to attract investments in priority sectors; a programme to transfer strategic supply chains to the kingdom and acquire a market share in supply chain components; diversifying funding options which include developing new financing solutions for the private sector to promote capital formation.

More than SAR 12 trillion will be injected into the national economy through investment activity by 2030: the Shareek programme initiatives will inject SAR 5 trillion, the Public Investment Fund is set to contribute SAR 3 trillion, and the remaining SAR 4 trillion will be generated by investments facilitated by the NIS.

Further, the economy will receive SAR 10 trillion through government spending during the next 10 years and a further SAR 5 trillion from private consumption spending in the same period, representing a total injection of SAR 27 trillion ($7 trillion) in the next decade, the statement added.

By achieving these goals, the investment contribution to GDP is expected to increase from 22 per cent in 2019 to 30 per cent by 2030, making the kingdom’s economy one of the 15 largest in the world. Meanwhile, the NIS is expected to raise annual FDI flows to SAR388bn and increase annual domestic investment to SAR 1.7 trillion by 2030, the statement added.

The NIS will also drive investment in the kingdom by enhancing the business environment, increasing investment attractiveness and competitiveness, instigating key regulatory and legislative measures, connecting investors with investment opportunities, offering incentive packages for selected projects and attracting regional headquarters to the Kingdom, not to mention helping local companies position their products and services successfully in regional and global markets. The strategy also complements the investment strategies of various vision realisation programmes.