Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 86 new industrial licenses in April with a total investment of SAR 2.2 billion ($587 million), bringing the total number of licenses issued so far this year to 410.
A report released on Sunday by the ministry's National Industrial and Mining Information Center said 67 factories started production in April, with an investment of 1.5 billion Saudi riyals ($400 million).
In terms of the number of new factories opening, food manufacturing led the way with 12, followed by chemicals with 11 and rubber and plastics with 10.
According to the report, 92.5 percent of the new factories were domestically-owned, 5.9 percent were joint ventures and 1.49 percent were foreign-invested.
As of April 2024, Saudi Arabia had 11,800 factories operating or under construction, with a total investment of SR1.4 trillion ($373 billion), up from about 10,800 in April 2023.
Of the new licenses, 80.2% were small-scale facilities, followed by medium-sized facilities at 13.9%. By investment type, domestic factories accounted for 100%.
The new licenses were distributed across 10 regions, with Riyadh leading the way with 36 factories, Makkah with 22 and the Eastern Region with 17. Medina had three factories, Qassim and Ha'il had two each, and Nejran, Asir, Al-Jawf and Tabuk had one each.
The ministry's updates provide insight into industrial activity in the Kingdom, highlighting changes in new investments and factory openings each month.
