Investments in Saudi Arabia increase exponentially
Direct investments in the Kingdom amounted to $150 billion in 2009, an increase from less than $15 billion in 2005, according to Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) Governor Amr Al-Dabbagh. Addressing a session of the 5th Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh on Jan. 25, Al-Dabbagh noted that the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development ranked the Kingdom 14th in the world in 2007 and eighth in 2009 in terms of attracting financial investments. He stressed that the 10/10 Initiative, adopted by SAGIA in 2004, was instrumental in achieving this goal. Al-Dabbagh also reviewed the Kingdom’s progress in the field of international competitiveness, noting that Saudi Arabia ranked 11th in 2010, compared with 67th in 2005.