Minister of Civil Service Dr Abdulrahman Al-Barak, Governor and Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Abdullatif Al-Othman, and others attend the opening ceremony of the Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) in Riyadh on Monday. — SPA Joshua Hoey Saudi Gazette
RIYADH — The Kingdom's leadership will push forward efforts to diversify the growing economy while easing procedures for investors, Governor and Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Abdullatif Al-Othman announced here on Monday.
Addressing the Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF) 2015 being organized by SAGIA under the title “Public Sector Competitiveness,” Al-Othman mentioned investment opportunities in healthcare, ICT, transport and mining sectors “Already we've identified healthcare and transportation investments valued at $140 billion in the coming five years,” he said.
There is also a plan to “transform” the financial services, tourism and real estate sectors while focusing on education and “innovation,” the SAGIA governor said.
The 2015 Forum began with an opening ceremony commemorating the late King Abdullah.
“We meet at a time of great sadness,” Al-Othman said.
Speaking to attendees in front of a backdrop of images of the Riyadh Metro project, he said the Kingdom's economic growth and stability was due to the leadership of the late King Abdullah.
“Foreign direct investment grew at an average rate of 10 percent to reach more than $220 billion in 2013 . . . more than 1.5 million jobs for Saudis were created during his reign.”
The SAGIA governor told attendees that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz had a track record of focusing on investment during his five decades as emir of Riyadh and as the Crown Prince. “He inaugurated the first GCF in 2007,” Al-Othman said. “Over the past year alone he has visited FranceIndiaChina, and Japan. Promoting investment was at the forefront of his agenda.”
Al-Othman emphasized SAGIA's work to improve Saudi Arabia's investment environment.
“We've clarified for investors the requirements and increased the transparency – all the requirements for obtaining a foreign investment license are available in a single document on our website.”
The focus on investment at the opening of the GCF comes amid expectations that the Kingdom will open its over $500 billion stock exchange to foreign investment in the first quarter of 2015.
Britain's Peter Mandelson, now Lord Mandelson, a former European trade commissioner, told the forum that Saudi Arabia's accomplishments are “impressive.”
The annual event brings together high-ranking Saudi officials and world business leaders.
Among those attending is Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of tech giant Google.
