MC

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has risen eight ranks among the world's most competitive countries in 2022, finishing second best in terms of performance in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2022. The Kingdom has also advanced in all major categories, and ranked 24th globally out of 63 countries, and seventh at the level of the G20 countries.

The Ministry of Commerce concentrated on stimulating the business environment and enhancing legislation in the year 2022 by issuing the New Companies Law to motivate and develop the commercial ecosystem. The Ministry reported a 27% increase in companies converting to "closed joint stock," with 208 companies allowed to convert, and 314,949 commercial registrations for companies and enterprises were issued throughout the year, up 6% from 2021.

In terms of small and medium enterprises, the total number of enterprises reached (979 thousand) by the end of the third quarter of 2022, up 32% compared to 2021. Monsha’at empowered male and female entrepreneurs by releasing 15.8 billion riyals through the Finance Portal and over 2.8 billion riyals through the ​ indirect lending program. It also disbursed 7.3 billion riyals of the Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Program (Kafalah). 

During the grace period given to violators of the Anti-Concealment Law violators, the status of 19,046 enterprises were rectified.  In addition, 1.4 million commercial registers and municipal licenses were monitored and analyzed in order to improve compliance. The National Program for Combating Commercial Concealment launched 60 initiatives to combat commercial concealment and handle requests for correction. The program adopted ten criteria to ensure compliance of enterprises with market regulations and rules in order to curb commercial concealment practices across all sectors in a sustainable manner. 

Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization certified an extra 138,000 products in 35 countries with the Saudi Quality Mark in 2022, a 29% increase over the previous year, with the goal of increasing the security of Saudi-made products.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of the Saudi Organization for Auditors and Accountants, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia moved up 15 places to 17th in the "Index for the Application of Auditing and Accounting in Business" in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2022, placing it among the world's 63 most competitive countries.

In 2022, the Law of Trade Remedies in International Trade was issued, and the General Authority for Foreign Trade opened five new commercial attaches: in Germany, Russia, Australia, South Africa, and Greece. Additionally, 16 Saudi and foreign business councils were established and restructured to improve intra-trade and take advantage of private sector investment opportunities.

The National Competitiveness Center released 95 reports to verify economic reforms and 380 recommendations were implemented. It also tracked 362 challenges and proposals to improve the competitive environment and signed 5 collaboration agreements with universities and government entities.

The Saudi Business Center opened four new branches, one at the Ministry of Education's headquarters and three in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce in:   Madinah, Najran, and Hail, bringing the total number of branches of the center to 16 in all regions of the Kingdom, providing more than 750 services for the business sector through seven government agencies in one location.

The Saudi Accreditation Center experienced a 61% increase in conformity assessment bodies, with 111 bodies being accredited, increasing the total to 284 bodies. The center joined the International Accreditation Forum membership, which has 96 accreditation bodies from around the world.

The Bankruptcy Committee helped to protect 170 economic activities for which a bankruptcy action was launched in order to continue the economic activity. The commission also adopted guidelines governing cross-border bankruptcy procedures and launched the Bankruptcy Training Portal to help 682 practitioners and interested parties acquire and develop their skills.

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