RIYADH - The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced the issuance of 48 new industrial licenses last July, topped by factories working in the manufacture of food products and non-ferrous metal factories with seven licenses each, while nearly 78 factories started production operations during the same month with an annual growth rate of nearly 144 % compared to the same month last year.

A report issued by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information indicated that the industrial sector in the Kingdom attracted investments amounting to more than 50 billion riyals during the month of July, which is the highest rate recorded by the volume of investment in the industrial sector in terms of the licensed capital of new factories within a month. From providing about 2,931 jobs, including: 1,101 jobs for Saudis and 1,830 for expatriates.

The report revealed that 88% of the total new industrial licenses were of national investment, and small factories accounted for about 77% of the total licensed factories, while the Riyadh region acquired the largest proportion of the new licenses with (16) industrial licenses during the same month, followed by the Eastern Province with (11) licenses, then the Makkah region, which registered 10 licenses.

The report of the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information indicated that the new factories that started production during the month of July also witnessed an annual growth rate of 144%, compared to the same month last year, as the number of factories that started production reached about 78 factories, with a licensed capital of about 917 million riyals.

And he indicated that the activity of making formed metal products, excluding machinery and equipment, captured the largest number of factories that started production during the last month, with 21 factories, followed by factories working in the manufacture of rubber products with 18 factories, while the Riyadh region topped the largest share of the number of new producing factories with 58 factories, while small factories that started production during the same period constituted the largest proportion with 71%, as well as 92% of the factories that started production were of national investment.

The total number of existing industrial facilities in the Kingdom at the end of July reached 10,166 factories, led by factories working in the production of non-ferrous metals with more than 2,000 factories, while the total volume of investments in the total factories amounted to more than 1.331 trillion riyals.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, through the National Center for Industrial Information, issues on a monthly basis the most important indicators of the movement of industrial activity in the Kingdom, in addition to revealing the size of the change witnessed by the sector in new industrial investments, in addition to the size of the jobs that the sector attracts.