The number of factories in the Kingdom climbed 10% y-o-y to reach 11.6k in 2023 with cumulative investments worth SAR 1.5 tn, according to an Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry post on X.

Industrial licenses: Some 1.4k licenses were issued in 2023 with investments worth SAR 81 bn in investments. Local firms secured two thirds of these licenses, followed by foreign firms at 194 licenses, and JVs at 142.

SMEs are leading the charge: Small establishments issued the majority of licenses with 1.2k followed by medium-sized establishments (158), micro-enterprises (15), and large establishments (3).

The most active sectors: Food product manufacturing led with 244 licenses, followed by nonmetallic mineral production (176), metal forming products (165), and rubber/plastic product manufacturing (123).

More licenses were handed out to businesses in Riyadh (479) than anywhere else in the Kingdom, followed by the Eastern Pegion (340), then Makkah (269), Qassim (87), and Madinah (79).

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