SAGIA grants licenses to 3 Japanese firms
Saudi Arabia, Japan pledge to boost bilateral ties
RIYADH: Japanese businesses reaped the rewards of investment as Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid Al-Qasabi on Sunday called on them to benefit from the ongoing economic reforms in Saudi Arabia under
Vision 2030.
Al-Qasabi was speaking at the opening session of the Saudi-Japanese Business Forum held under the banner of “Saudi-Japan Vision 2030” with a focus on bolstering the partnership and taking the bilateral cooperation on a steady path of progress.
The major highlight of the day-long forum was Japanese companies winning investment licenses from the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), which organized the bilateral forum, and the signing of six Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) involving the government and private-sector entities from the two countries.
At the end of the opening session the new investment licenses were granted to three Japanese companies: The SMBC company working in the field of financial and administrative consultations, the SB Energy company in the field of renewable energy consultancy, and the TADANO for providing scientific and technical services for Saudi agents in the field of industry.
Al-Qasabi said the Kingdom provides all potentials and opportunities for expansion in the markets of the Middle East and Africa in a manner that will allow investors achieve the highest profit rates with minimum risks in a suitable environment and advanced infrastructure.
He also underscored that the Saudi and Japanese parties will jointly explore what has been envisioned in the joint Saudi-Japanese Vision 2030 and aim to remove obstacles encountering businessmen in both countries.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said the meeting comes at a time when the two countries have a responsible role in the international community toward issues of peace and global economy and their continued pursuit to revive the economy and enrich the globe with unique experience in construction, industry, technology, and research.
Al-Falih expressed happiness overseeing the progress of partnership of Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical in Petro Rabigh Project.
He also praised the role of the Japanese banks in funding activities in the Kingdom, notably the government borrowing activities.
Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko, leading his country’s delegation, said that Japan is at the top of cultures to contribute to the Vision 2030 partnership.
He said that we have full engagements by our companies with 37 B2B MoUs, there are 67 Japanese firms engaged in the Riyadh mission, and that 10,000-plus Saudi engineers and staff are being trained through public-private vocational training.
SAGIA Gov. Ibrahim Al-Omar underlined that the aim of Saudi Vision 2030 was to create promising opportunities for investment and development and its economic objectives include increasing the contribution of foreign investments to 5.7 of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, as well as raising the contribution of the private sector to 65 percent of the GDP from the current 40 percent.
He said the volume of bilateral trade in the past year amounted to more than SR100 billion, while the number of Japanese companies to invest in the Kingdom, until the end of last year, was 96 with the total investment exceeding SR53 billion.
Tarek bin Abdul Hadi Al-Qahtani, President of the Saudi-Japanese Business Council, said that the volume of development witnessed by the trade and investment movement between the two countries during the past two decades reflected the strength of the strategic relationship and partnership between them.
An exhibition titled “Invest in Saudi Arabia” was also organized on the sidelines of the event.
The forum included four panel discussions on the recent achievement of Tayseer – a SAGIA initiative that aims to secure and stimulate the investment environment for the private sector and to provide the necessary guarantees for the preservation of rights, and also showcased projects funded by the Public Investment Fund including Qidiya, an iconic entertainment destination for Riyadh residents.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan also announced the signing of a MoU with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest financial group, to promote the development of Saudi youth’s skills in the financial sector as part of the ministry’s Advanced National Talent Development Program.