The Minister of Economy and Planning, Dr Khaled Al-Gosabi, urged Japanese businessmen to invest in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly in information technology, industrial, petrochemical and power generation sectors.
In a key address at the Fifth Saudi-Japanese Business Council, Dr Al-Gosaibi said that the goal of the Eighth Development Plan (2005-2009) was to achieve a 30% growth rate in the Kingdom’s GDP “to make the Kingdom an international centre of refined oil products and for the export of petrochemicals, minerals and metals, and for regional and international centre for advanced industrial technologies.”
Among those present at the Council session were Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Morimoto; Deputy Minister for Industrial Affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Saleh Al-Hussaini; President of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy; Japanese Ambassador to the Kingdom, Yasuo Saito K. Konaga; Director General of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Yoshitaka Nakamura; and over one hundred businessmen from the two countries.
Explaining the benefits of the Kingdom as a destination for overseas investors, the Minister said that Saudi Arabia has five of the largest five hundred corporations in the world and an enormous capital base. “According to some banking sources, the total value of international private placements from Gulf Cooperation Council member states may total $1.3 trillion, of which at least half belong to Saudi individuals and Saudi companies. Many Japanese companies could benefit from partnering with Saudi business enterprises for their investment in the region,” Arab News reported.
The Minister said that the Kingdom’s strategic priority was to continue adding value to the barrel “by refining more of our crude oil production within the Kingdom, and engaging in the production of petrochemicals and other energy-intensive products.”
Dr Al-Gosaibi said that Japan, the Kingdom’s second largest trading partner and source of foreign investment, was well placed to raise the value of its investments. He noted that the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) had licensed 2,100 projects, worth about $15 billion, from 61 countries - including ten projects from Japan, with the overseas investors’ share being $12.5 billion.
Dr Al-Gosaibi also cited the Kingdom’s economic reform program, which covers privatisation, plans for a private domestic airline, and liberalisation of power generation and telecommunication sectors. “To deal with huge influxes of investment, the capital market law, effective from next month, will serve as a regulatory framework for conducting all capital market-related activities.” A Saudi Securities and Exchange Commission will also be established.
Speaking for JETRO, Nakamura said that one of the latest Japanese firms to embark upon a joint venture in the Kingdom was Xenesys, which will be involved in a private sector desalination plant project. It was also announced that Yellow Hat Japan, which specializes in establishment of one-stop shops for the sale of car accessories, has concluded a franchise agreement with the Tamimi Group.
Source: SPA
