Ministry of Industry issues 102 new licenses worth SAR 1.2 bln in July

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 102 new industrial licenses in July, at a total investment value of SAR 1.2 billion.

The new licenses covered five industrial activities, the majority of which (or 21 licenses) were in the food production field, followed by the manufacturing of non-metallic mineral products with 16 licenses. The casting of metals except for machinery and equipment came next with 14 licenses, then the manufacturing of rubber and plastics products with nine licenses. Other manufacturing industries dominated eight licenses.

 Small-sized enterprises received most of the new licenses in July, accounting for 80.39% of the total. Medium and micro-sized enterprises followed with 18.63% and 0.98%, respectively.

Meanwhile, by investment type, national factories dominated 75.49% of the new licenses, followed by foreign establishments (14.71%) and joint investments (9.80%).

The report also showed that 64 factories started actual production in July, with total investments of SAR 1.6 billion. Non-metallic minerals took the lead with 16 factories, followed by food production with 15 factories, then casting of metals (eight) and rubber and plastics (four).

National factories comprised 85.94% of the total factories that started production in July, followed by joint-investment plants and foreign factories at 7.81% and 6.25%, respectively.

The total number of industrial licenses issued by the ministry from January-July stood at 659. The number of existing and under-construction factories by the end of July reached 11,032, with total investments exceeding SAR 1.48 trillion, the report added.

Source: Argaam