Saudi Arabia to allow 100% foreign ownership of firms in new special economic zones

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia will allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of companies in new special economic zones.

The decision comes three weeks after Saudi Arabia announced it was planning to pass a new law that allows non-Saudi residents to own property in the Kingdom.

“The new law for foreigners to own real estate is in its final stages, and shall be passed soon, it is broader and more inclusive than the current property-owning system,” Abdullah Alhammad, the CEO of Saudi’s Real Estate General Authority said on March 26.

The Kingdom’s latest move will open up new investment destinations for foreign investors.  

On 14 June 2016, the oil-rich kingdom increased the ceiling for foreign investment in wholesale and retail trade sector from 75 per cent to 100 per cent.