Saudi Arabia earmarks 10 billion riyals to become supply chain hub

SAUDI Arabia has earmarked 10 billion riyals (S$3.8 billion) to provide incentives for global supply firms to invest in the kingdom, part of plans to develop its economy as a hub for industrial companies.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announced the plans as part of Saudi Arabia’s Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative on Sunday (Oct 23), that aims to attract 40 billion riyals of investments into the country. The move is intended to help the kingdom reach a target of becoming one of the 15 largest economies globally by 2030.

The initiative intends to “leverage the kingdom’s resources, infrastructure and location to bring greater resilience to economies and companies across Europe, the Americas and Asia, while further enhancing Saudi Arabia’s position in the global economy”, according to a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Saudi Arabia has announced a raft of investment targets as it looks to wean the economy off a reliance on oil sales by developing new industries. It wants to position itself as a regional hub for transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, and low-carbon energy sources including solar power and hydrogen exports.

The kingdom wants the supply chain plan to attract investment in areas including manufacturing of green metals, green hydrogen production devices, and advanced recycling industries. BLOOMBERG