Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Today, the Kingdom begins a new investment phase based on our success in increasing the number and quality of opportunities for Saudi and international investors. Let’s empower the private sector and provide it with huge opportunities.

RIYADH - His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs - may God protect him - launched today, Monday, Rabi’ al-Awwal 05, 1443 AH corresponding to October 11, 2021 AD, the National Investment Strategy, which is one of the main possibilities to achieve The goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

The National Investment Strategy is one of the main possibilities to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which His Highness the Crown Prince outlined, when launching the vision, by saying: “Our country has huge investment capabilities, and we will seek to be an engine for our economy and an additional resource for our country.” He added, may God protect him, that The Kingdom seeks to exploit the strengths that God has bestowed on it from a distinguished strategic location, a pioneering investment power, and Arab and Islamic depth.

The national investment strategy will contribute to the growth of the national economy and diversifying its sources, which will achieve - God willing - many of the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, including raising the contribution of the private sector to the gross domestic product to 65%, and promoting foreign direct investment to reach 5.7% of the total. GDP, increasing the proportion of non-oil exports from 16% to 50% of the total non-oil GDP, reducing the unemployment rate to 7%, and advancing the Kingdom to one of the top ten positions in the global competitiveness index by 2030.

On the occasion of the launch of the National Investment Strategy, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the beginning of his speech: “Today, the Kingdom begins a new investment phase based on our success in increasing the number and quality of opportunities for Saudi and international investors to empower the private sector and provide it with huge opportunities. Investment is one of the means that will help us achieve the ambitions and aspirations of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, including the development, diversification and sustainability of the economy, the transfer and localization of technology, infrastructure development, improving the quality of life, providing job opportunities, refining the skills of our human resources and enhancing their capabilities, to leave a legacy of prosperity for tomorrow’s generations.”

His Highness added, “The national investment strategy revolves around empowering investors, developing and providing investment opportunities, providing financing solutions, and enhancing competitiveness. It also contributes to increasing the effectiveness of the partnership between the public sector and the private sector, as our mission now lies in opening the doors to the private sector.” and the opportunity for it to produce, grow and flourish.”

His Highness the Crown Prince stressed that the next phase of the national investment strategy includes the development of detailed investment plans for sectors, such as industry, renewable energy, transport and logistics, tourism, digital infrastructure, and health care.

In his speech on the strategy, His Highness explained that achieving the Kingdom’s ambitious investment goals will be through concerted efforts, and the participation of a number of entities, such as the Public Investment Fund, in investing in the Kingdom according to its strategy, and the contribution of the private sector, through the contribution of major Saudi companies to more investments. National, through the Partner Program, in addition to other private sector and foreign investments.

His Highness said: “Today, we are proud of the impressive achievements the Kingdom of Opportunity has achieved under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - during the first phase of implementing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. We will continue to work towards a bright future, enhanced by a diversified and sustainable economy. And this strategy constitutes one of the tributaries to achieving this. We are confident, with God’s help, of our abilities to reach our ambitious goals and aspirations of our great people.”

His Highness the Crown Prince indicated that investment constitutes an essential and pivotal element in the system of economic growth and sustainable development under the umbrella of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Consequently, more than 12 trillion riyals will be injected into the local economy until 2030 (5 trillion riyals from partner program initiatives and projects, and 3 trillion riyals). riyals from the Public Investment Fund allocated to local investment, and 4 trillion riyals from the investments of various national and international companies, under the umbrella of the national investment strategy). Moreover, the economy will receive another 10 trillion riyals of government spending through the state’s general budget during the next ten years, and another 5 trillion riyals of private consumption spending for the same period, bringing the total of this spending to nearly 27 trillion riyals until 2030 (i.e. equivalent to $7 trillion).

Specifically, the national investment strategy aims to raise net foreign direct investment flows to 388 billion riyals annually, and increase domestic investment to reach about 1.7 trillion riyals annually by 2030. By achieving these goals, it is expected that the investment-to-GDP ratio of the Kingdom will rise from 22% in 2019 to 30% in 2030, which will contribute to the growth of the Saudi economy to become one of the 15 largest economies in the world.

This strategy will push investment in the Kingdom forward at a higher and faster pace, by improving the investment environment, increasing its attractiveness and competitiveness, implementing fundamental corrective measures at the level of the regulatory and legislative framework, identifying and developing investment opportunities and presenting them to investors, providing packages of incentives for quality investment projects, and attracting headquarters In addition to supporting the investments and businesses of national companies, to enhance their international position and enable them to deliver and consolidate their investments, products and services in the regional and global markets, with high efficiency and competitiveness.

In this context, the strategy is integrated with the previously announced vision programs, in which investment is an essential part, such as: the Public Investment Fund Program, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, the Privatization Program, the Financial Sector Development Program, and the Quality of Life Program, in addition to Other national strategies.

It is worth noting that the national investment strategy includes setting comprehensive governance to oversee its implementation, through the Higher National Investment Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince - may God protect him - and setting and approving incentives for quality investments, and identifying and developing investment opportunities. The strategy also includes a number of initiatives, including; Establishment of special economic zones, with competitive regulations and incentives that attract investments in priority sectors; a program to transfer strategic supply chains to the Kingdom and acquire a market share in supply chain components; financing initiatives, including developing new financing solutions for the private sector, to promote capital formation; It also includes the development of the “Invest in Saudi” platform to be the national platform for presenting and marketing investment opportunities available in the Kingdom.