Easy place to do business
Key fact: 13th for Ease of Doing Business
The World Bank rates Saudi Arabia as the easiest place to do business in the entire MENA region. Among Arab countries, the Kingdom is the easiest place to register property, get credit, and start a business; and it is the 7th easiest place in the world to pay taxes. The investment environment in the Kingdom reflects traditions of liberal private enterprise policies; its new Foreign Investment Law allows 100% foreign ownership of projects and real estate.
In addition, the Kingdom is an acknowledged world leader in the core determinants of international competitiveness. The Kingdom has received recognition for:
• Unbeatable Fiscal Environment. With extremely low taxes and excellent incentives, Saudi Arabia is ranked 4th in the world for “fiscal freedom.” Earnings from Saudi-based operations are highly secure due to the Kingdom’s very stable currency. The Saudi Riyal is pegged to the dollar without restrictions on foreign exchange or repatriation of profits.
• Business-Friendly Regime. The World Economic Forum lauds the Saudi economy for the absence of stifling government intervention: the Kingdom ranks 20th in the world for both least burdensome regulation and least wasteful public spending. It is estimated to take just 15 days to open a business in the Kingdom, by far the lowest on the Arabian Peninsula.
• Openness to Trade. Saudi Arabia’s economy is exceptionally open to trade, with the lowest average weighted tariff rate in the entire MENA region. In an effort to further boost trade, the Government reduced port handling fees by 50% in early 2008.
Having already risen from 67th to 13th in the World Bank / International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in the span of four short years, Saudi Arabia is committed to becoming one of the world’s Top 10 most competitive economies by 2010, and is embarking on an ambitious reform and investment path to achieve that goal: the 10x10 mission.