Mining is the most significant opportunity for private investment in Saudi Arabia, followed by infrastructure, higher education and telecommunication, said a recent study.

Value Partners, a leading global management consulting firm, has identified a number of business opportunities within the private sector in Saudi Arabia, following a recent study of the Kingdom’s economy.

“Today, we are witnessing almost every sector available for private investments except for a short list of areas that are limited to Saudi investment,” said Santino Saguto, partner, Value Partners.

“Previously, the mining sector had not been given due attention, but now there are a lot of mining investments taking place in the government and the private sector in phosphates, iron ore, and aluminum,” Saguto added.

Other areas increasingly receiving private investments include infrastructure, which includes 3,500 km of new railroad routes being built, as well as associated services, water desalination, power generation, and higher education, according to the study.

The telecommunication sector has also opened up to competition in both mobile and, increasingly, fixed line sectors, the study said.

The study by Value Partners added that two key incentives which contribute to the increase in private investment include tax incentives following the reduction of tax rates from 45 per cent to 20 per cent; and the law that enables foreigners to own 100 per cent of businesses in Saudi Arabia.

“These two steps have made conducting business in the country much easier for foreign companies and my understanding is that further incentives are currently being planned for investors in developing economic cities,” continued Saguto.

Value Partners has been operational in Saudi Arabia since 2004 and since early 2010 has office presence in Riyadh in partnership with Usamah Al-Kurdi, a prominent business personality in the Kingdom.

Al-Kurdi said: “There are plenty of business opportunities within Saudi Arabia and it has been affected very little by the economic downturn with one of the overriding reasons being the availability of cash within the country.”

“With the government encouraging the growth of the private sector, it is a great opportunity for Value partners to use their consulting expertise to advise investors on how to strategically allocate their funds.”

“In recent years, Saudi government has been making concerted efforts to diversify its economy and minimise its reliance on oil as the sole source of government revenue, at the same time increasing employment opportunities for the growing Saudi population and bringing about reforms on economic, political and social levels,” concluded Al-Kurdi. – TradeArabia News Service