Saudi Arabia: Investment Climate Statement 2015

Improving the investment climate continues to be an important part of the SAG's broader program to liberalize the country's trade and investment regime, diversify an economy overly dependent on oil, and promotes employment for a young population. The government encourages investment in nearly all economic sectors, with priority given to transportation, education, health, information and communications technology, life sciences, and energy, as well as in four new "Economic Cities" that are at various stages of development. The Economic Cities are comprehensive large-scale developments in different regions focusing on particular industries, e.g., information technology. Prospective investors will find Saudi Arabia attractive for its economic stability, large market (with a population of over 30 million), sound infrastructure, and well-regulated banking system. In the "2015 Doing Business" report, the World Bank ranked Saudi Arabia 49th out of 189 economies in terms of ease of doing business, a significant drop from 2012 where they ranked 22nd. In its "Corruption Perceptions Index 2014" report, Transparency International ranked Saudi Arabia as the 55th-cleanest out of 175 countries in terms of perceived levels of public-sector corruption, down from 57th in 2011 but still better than in 2008, when it ranked 80th. In its 2015 "Economic Freedom Index," the Heritage Foundation gave the Kingdom a score of 62.1 out of 100, a drop of 0.1 from 2014, placing it 77th out of the 178 rated countries.