Saudi Arabia has seen a sharp increase in foreign firms establishing operations in the country, with numbers rising tenfold compared to the period before Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom’s mammoth economic diversification plan, was launched in 2016, said Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, at the Future Investment Initiative (FII).
“Foreign investors in Saudi Arabia are voting both with their feet and with their money,” he said. Despite regional tensions, the kingdom’s economic diversification plan has ensured that “the tailwinds are much stronger than the headwinds.”
Al-Falih cited various indicators reflecting the kingdom’s growth since 2017, including a 17% overall rise in GDP. Tourism surged from “almost nothing” to 100 million tourists last year, he added.
Foreign direct investment exceeded targets: Al-Falih said average inflows in the last three years was 2.5-times higher than that of the previous three years.
The “proof point that Vision 2030 is working is that the non-oil economy has been growing 4-5% since 2017,” he said. “Our companies are profitable and making money,” he said, dispelling reports critical of the kingdom’s efforts to create jobs.
