Factories enter production, new financing reaches enterprises, consumer spending remains resilient, and investment opportunities expand in Riyadh, while major projects continue according to their implementation schedules

Riyadh | BETH

While the global economy faces pressures from war, energy prices and interest rates, indicators inside Saudi Arabia point to simultaneous economic activity across consumption, industry, financing, investment and major projects.

Point-of-sale spending recorded high levels over the past week following the back-to-school surge, while electronic activity continued to register hundreds of millions of transactions, reflecting sustained domestic demand. The Saudi Central Bank publishes weekly point-of-sale data tracking this activity across different sectors and cities.

Factories Enter the Market

The Kingdom issued 268 new industrial licenses in May, representing investments exceeding SAR 2.23 billion, while 149 factories began actual production with investments of nearly SAR 1.43 billion.

The number of industrial establishments rose to around 13,870 by the end of May, up 12% from a year earlier, while the national industrial strategy targets approximately 36,000 factories by 2035.

What matters here is not merely the number of licenses, but the transition of new factories from licensing into actual production and employment.

SAR 5 Billion for Enterprises

In financing, Monsha’at and STC Bank signed an agreement to provide a financing portfolio of up to SAR 5 billion for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The solutions include financing for working capital, assets and equipment, projects and contracts, e-commerce and supply chains, with financing terms extending up to ten years.

This injects new financing capacity into a sector that forms a broad base for economic activity and employment.

Riyadh Offers New Opportunities

In the capital, Riyadh Municipality offered 58 investment opportunities covering more than 373,000 square meters, including commercial and residential activities, parking facilities, warehouses, sports academies, cafés, workshops and various services.

The offering reflects a broader direction toward transforming municipal sites and assets into distributed investment opportunities across the city, rather than limiting growth to major projects alone.

Projects Keep Building

Alongside these indicators, work continues on major and newly launched projects in Riyadh and across different regions of the Kingdom, spanning entertainment, tourism, housing, urban development and infrastructure.

In Riyadh, King Salman Park continues to develop its infrastructure and smart systems, while other projects move forward according to their planned implementation and operational schedules.

This activity matters because the economic impact of a project does not begin only on the day it opens. Construction itself is an economy: contracts, contractors, materials, transportation, technology, financing, jobs and supply chains operating throughout the years of implementation.

Movement from Within

When these indicators are viewed together, a clearer picture emerges:

The consumer spends.
The factory begins production.
The enterprise finds financing.
The city offers opportunities.
And projects continue to build.

These are not isolated figures, but interconnected links in a single economic movement.

At a time when the region is facing pressures from war, energy prices and financing costs, the continued momentum inside the Saudi economy carries a significance greater than any single indicator:

The Saudi economy is not waiting for calm abroad; it continues to move from within.