Saudi Arabia plans new laws to attract investment

Saudi Arabia will soon issue a package of new investment laws and procedures, said Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, governor of the Eastern Province.

In addition, 210 billion Saudi riyals (Dh205.6 billion) worth of investment opportunities are coming through a new Saudi industrial zone.

Prince Mohammad spoke at the First Saudi Mega Projects Conference which opened on Saturday in Dammam.

More than 900 delegates from Saudi Arabia and abroad are attending the conference. It is being conducted by the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EPCCI), in cooperation with UK-based CWC Associates, an event planning group.

The three-day conference will discuss the future of energy services and identify projects in oil, mining and desalination the country will need to implement in coming years.

Saudi Aramco, the country's oil major, announced at the conference it was in the process of planning and constructing projects with a capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of crude per day.

The projects will raise the maximum production capacity of the company to 12 million barrels per day, Abdullah Jum'ah, Saudi Aramco's chairman, told participants.

In his opening speech, Prince Mohammad described the conference as a chance to bolster the Eastern Province's position as an important centre for energy services.

Prince Saud Bin Abdullah Bin Thunayan, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and chairman of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, spoke of the new investment opportunities available through the Jubail 2 industrial development project.

These are expected to exceed 210 billion riyals, Prince Saud said.

Jubail 2 is an import substitution and export promotion effort centred on a new industrial area.

The twin industrial cities of Jubail on the Arabian Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea account for 7.6 per cent of the country's fixed capital and represent 70 per cent of gross Saudi industrial exports. They also represent 85 per cent of the total non-oil exports.

The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu was established to plan and administer the two industrial cities.

The Royal Commission represents 7 per cent of the country's GDP and 60 per cent of its domestic industrial product, Prince Saud said.