The Director of Regulatory Environment at Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Dr. Ayedh Al-Otaibi, noted the ongoing cooperation among all government authorities in enabling a comprehensive regulatory infrastructure to support the growth of investments in the private sector. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Dr. Al-Otaibi added that the relevant regulations for doing business in the Kingdom are in line with the overall direction of the Kingdom's economic policies which are based on flexible and free open markets and pointed to the incentives and guarantees that the Foreign Investment Act (FIA) provides foreign investors. The FIA passed in 2000 extended all the needed support for investments allowing 100% foreign ownership in all sectors with the exception of a few where a Saudi partner is required: (Professional Services, Wholesale and retail, Financial Services Insurance and Banking, and Telecommunications) and excludes those activities in relation to sovereign and religious activities such as Hajj and Umrah. Dr Al-Otaibi pointed to the fact that the Kingdom is one of the few countries in the region that allows for 100% foreign ownership and that any restricted investment activity is also under constant review with the aim of permitting more activities. In addition, with respect to the type of incorporation in conducting investment activities in the Kingdom, Dr. Al-Otaibi added that while the international agreements entered into by the Kingdom stipulate following the company's law, the FIA has gone beyond, welcoming foreign investments for natural person and individual proprietorship for those activities that are in target sector, innovative in nature and or involve commercialization of patents. Furthermore, SAGIA has the flexibility to be accommodative for these distinguished investments that are aligned to the Kingdom Development Objectives.
