RIYADH — The Saudi Ministry of Commerce revealed that more than 95,000 commercial registers have been issued during the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 23 percent year-on-year, bringing the total commercial registers to more than 1.4 million by the end of the year. This information was contained in the Business Sector Bulletin for the fourth quarter of 2023, issued by the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday. The bulletin covers the most important developments in the sector, the growth of commercial registers and promising sectors. The category of young Saudi men and women accounted for 38.6 percent of the total existing commercial registers of establishments, while the percentage of women reached 38 percent of the total existing commercial registers of establishments. The bulletin highlighted commercial registers in e-commerce, which represents an important tributary to the national economy, as the number of commercial registers for this sector reached 37400 by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, with a growth rate of 24 percent on an annual basis. It is noteworthy that strengthening the e-commerce business system is one of the goals of the National Transformation Program in support of achieving Vision 2030, due to the importance of the sector and its role in strengthening the economy, especially since the Kingdom is one of the top 10 growing countries in the field of e-commerce. Five regions topped the list in terms of e-commerce registers. Riyadh topped with 15,000 registers, and it is followed by Makkah with 9500 registers while the Eastern Province came third with 6000 registers, and it is followed by Madinah with 1800, and Qassim region with about 1200 commercial registers. The Ministry of Commerce said that Saudi Arabia is among the top 10 developing economies in e-commerce, holding 8th rank among 152 countries, according to the index of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The bulletin disclosed that the total revenues from e-commerce is estimated at about SR260 billion ($69.3 billion) by 2025, and an expected compound annual growth rate of 15 percent. The value of bold investment in emerging companies operating in the system during the year 2022 reached about SR446 million ($118.9 million). The bulletin dealt with the most prominent economic activities in promising sectors related to technology, entertainment, transportation, tourism, and other sectors. The bulletin highlighted the growth in activities such as providing cloud computing services, software publishing, resorts, land transportation of goods, maritime clubs, and the manufacture of medical tools and equipment, which provides the local and foreign business sector with opportunities for business development and expansion of partnerships. The ministry cited that the number of existing commercial registers in providing cloud computing services reached about 1700 at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 1200 registers in the same period of 2022, posting a growth of 40 percent. The existing commercial registers for the software sector amounted to about 4000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 3100 in the same period of 2022, with a growth rate of 28 percent. With regard to visual arts activities, the number of existing commercial registers by the end of the fourth quarter reached 822 registers, a growth rate of 103 percent, on an annual basis. The ministry bulletin added that the number of existing commercial registers for resorts was about 3300 at the end of the fourth quarter, an increase of 51 percent, compared to the same period in 2022. As for boutique hotels, the existing commercial records for this sector witnessed an increase of 74 percent during the fourth quarter, on an annual basis, after reaching about 1900 registers. The existing registers at the end of the fourth quarter for maritime clubs accounted for 580 registers, compared to about 389 in the last quarter of 2022, with a growth rate of 49 percent. According to the bulletin, the total commercial registrations for land transport and goods by the end of the fourth quarter reached about 33400 registers, compared to 27600 registers in the same period in 2022, an increase of 21 percent. Regarding the medical tools and equipment industry, the volume of existing commercial registers in the fourth quarter of 2023 jumped 28 percent, on an annual basis, bringing the total number to more than 1300 registers.
