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24 October 2018

Saudi Arabia to allow foreign investment in four key sectors

It has been reported1 that Saudi Arabia will allow foreigners to invest in labor services and jobs, including recruitment offices; audio and video services; road transport services; and brokerage services for real estate. According to news reports (the Government has not formally issued a notice), the Council of Ministers amended what it described as types of activities that had been previously excluded from foreign investment (The list of activities referred to in Article 3 of the Foreign Investment Act, 2000 issued by Royal Decree no. M/1, dated 5/1/1421H corresponding to 10 April 2000).

The Council of Ministers made this decision on 23 October 2018, after reviewing the recommendations of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and a report from the Minister of Commerce and Investment and the Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

Endnote

For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Ernst & Young & Co (Public Accountants), Saudi Arabia Tax Leader, Riyadh
  • Asim J. Sheikh | asim.sheikh@sa.ey.com
Ernst & Young & Co (Public Accountants), Riyadh
  • Abbet R Barce | abbet.barce@sa.ey.com
  • Ahmed Abdullah | ahmed.abdullah@sa.ey.com
  • Amr Farouk | amr.farouk@sa.ey.com
  • Altaf Sarangi | altaf.sarangi@sa.ey.com
  • Hosam Abdulkareem | hosam.abdulkareem@sa.ey.com
  • Imran Iqbal | imran.iqbal@sa.ey.com
  • Michael Hendroff | michael.hendroff@ae.ey.com
  • Mirza Ashraf | mirza.ashraf@sa.ey.com
  • Nitesh Jain | nitesh.jain@sa.ey.com
  • Parvez Maqbool | parvez.maqbool@sa.ey.com
  • Sohail Nini | sohail.nini@sa.ey.com
  • Stuart Halstead | stuart.halstead@sa.ey.com
  • Suleiman Mohammed | suleiman.mohammed@sa.ey.com
  • Vladimir A. Gidirim | vladimir.gidirim@sa.ey.com
  • Yousef Eldaw | yousef.eldaw@sa.ey.com
Ernst & Young & Co (Public Accountants), Jeddah
  • Franz-Josef Epping | franz-josef.epping@sa.ey.com
  • Ayman Abu El Izz | ayman.abueIzz@sa.ey.com
  • Hanif Khatri | hanif.khatri@sa.ey.com
  • Hussain Asiri | hussain.asiri@sa.ey.com
  • Imran Ahmed | imran.ahmed@sa.ey.com
  • Irfan Alladin | irfan.alladin@sa.ey.com
  • Mohammed Desin | mohammed.desin@sa.ey.com
Ernst & Young & Co (Public Accountants), Al-Khobar
  • Syed Farhan Zubair | farhan.zubair@sa.ey.com
  • Ali Sainudheen | ali.sainudheen@sa.ey.com
  • Bilal Mian | bilal.mian@sa.ey.com
  • Hatem Ghobara | hatem.ghobara@sa.ey.com
  • Javed Aziz Khan | javed.aziz@sa.ey.com
  • Jude deSequeira | jude.desequeira@sa.ey.com
  • Sanjeev Fernandez | sanjeev.fernandez@sa.ey.com
Ernst & Young LLP, Middle East Tax Desk, Houston
  • Gareth Lewis | gareth.lewis1@ey.com 

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