The Ministry of Investment (MISA) (), (previously the ''Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority SAGIA'' ), is a Saudi Arabian government ministry that oversees foreign investment in the country by issuing licenses to foreign investors. It was established as the General Investment Authority in 2000 during the reign of

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...

and was transformed into a ministry in 2020 through a royal decree issued by King Salman. Khalid al-Falih, the former chairman of Saudi Aramco was appointed as the new minister by replacing governor Ibrahim al-Omar following the ministry's renaming.

History and governance

Historically, SAGIA held responsibility for issuing foreign investment licenses to non-Saudi companies that wished to operate in the Kingdom,Stephen Kalin
Saudi ex-energy minister bounces back as investment chief
Reuters (February 25, 2020). and lacked a broader role in Saudi economic regulation. Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki al Abdullah Alsaud, a member of a side branch of the ruling

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling ...

, was Chairman of SAGIA from 2000 until his resignation in March 2004.Reuters
Former investment chief is new Saudi ambassador to Washington
Reuters (October 21, 2015). He promoted more openness to foreign investment in Saudi Arabia, as well as a period of trade liberalization and privatization, and his tenure coincided with Saudi Arabia's accession to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

. However, Prince Abdullah faced resistance from more conservative factions within the Saudi government who opposed economic reforms, as well as the Saudi bureaucracy. The SAGIA played a key role in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative, which focused on

economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

, foreign direct investment, and economic development. In 2017, SAGIA launched Tayseer program, aimed at improving the investment climate for private companies. SAGIA has signed a number of major non-oil investment agreements. At its third annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, which took place in October 2019, SAGIA signed 23 agreements collectively $15 billion. These included a $700 million investment deal with Modular Middle East; a $300 million investment deal with ForDeal, a $200 million deal with Shiloh Minerals, a $120 million investment deal with BRF Brazil Food, a $110 million investment deal with KME, and a $50 million deal with Xylem Inc. In October 2011,

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

signed an agreement with SAGIA to set up its first manufacturing plant in King Abdullah Economic City; in 2016, SAGIA gave Pfizer 100% foreign ownership of its legal entity in Saudi Arabia. In August 2017, SAGIA allowing 100% foreign ownership in the engineering business for the first time; the rules remained restrictive, such that only established multinationals were eligible. In 2020, a royal order was issued, replacing SAGIA with a new Ministry of Investment under Khalid al-Falih, the former chairman of

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...

. The creation of the Investment Ministry was part of a broader Saudi government reshuffle by Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985), also known as MBS or MbS, is the ''de facto'' ruler of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, formally serving as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Sa ...

(MBS), the ''de facto'' ruler of the kingdom. MBS has aggressively moved to diversify the Saudi economy away from petroleum. It was unclear whether the new Investment Ministry would be more powerful than SAGIA.

References

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Investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

2020 establishments in Saudi Arabia Ministries established in 2020 Saudi

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

History and governance

See also

References