JEDDAH: The governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has said that its doors are as open to local investors and small businesses as they are to foreign investors. Amr Al-Dabbagh, speaking on the SAGIA's strategy for 2011 to 2015, said that investors were a “fundamental element in a large-scale economic vision to achieve a range of developmental goals in the Kingdom”. “In iis strategy for the next five years SAGIA will focus on four main tasks,” Al-Dabbagh said. “The first is to continue improving the local and foreign investment environment in the Kingdom and to raise its ranking in international competitiveness reports, laying down the framework to raise competitiveness in a number of investment sectors and in different regions by focusing on the advantages and investment facilities in each part of the country.” The second main task, he said, was to attract and promote local and foreign joint investments in the main sectors of energy and petrochemicals, heavy industries and metals, consumer product manufacturing, communications and information technology, biological sciences and health, human resources development and education, transport and logistical services, and information services. He noted that the sectors were selected according to the need of Saudi society and the national economy, the ability to provide staff and facilities, and their capability to contribute to balanced development across the country. The third principal task, Al-Dabbagh said, was to direct foreign capital towards producing qualified Saudi staff to work in investment projects, and said that a range of programs had been launched by royal order and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Labor to that end. The fourth task, he said, involves SAGIA concentrating on the next five years on improving services offered to investors to enable the business community to quickly obtain the required government services to begin their projects when they are operational. “The number of centers offering full services will be increased across the Kingdom,” Al-Dabbagh said. “This will assist Saudi projects and foreign and joint investments.” Al-Dabbagh added that the four economic cities, in Rabegh, Jizan, Madina and Hail would attract both local and foreign investment to areas of low growth, improve infrastructure and create jobs for Saudis. He said that there were three common denominators found in successful projects around the world of a similar nature. “They are a single authority providing all government services, available and suitable human resources for the desired investments, and proximity of the economic zone to a modern city with advanced health, education, residential and entertainment facilities,” he said. “Those factors have produced what we know as the ‘economic cities', and they also require complete financing from the private sector.”
