EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has not been known to be an easy place to do business, but that is changing. Over the last year Saudi Arabia has carried out a record number of business reforms, earning the country a spot in this year’s top 10 global business climate improvers, according to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 report. These reforms saw Saudi jump from 92nd position to 62nd out of 190 countries on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business.
Among the various reforms that have contributed to this has been a reduction in the cost of starting a business. It now costs only 5.4% of income per capita for an entrepreneur to start a business, which is lower than MENA’s regional average of 16.7%. Saudi Arabia has made substantial reductions over time to minimum capital requirements, cutting them from over 1,000% of income per capita in 2004 to zero.