With the participation of 24 government authorities, and by the follow up of Trade and Investment System, represented by the General Authority for Investment, 44 recommendations have been completed, to enhance the competitiveness of business environment, and to address the challenges of the private sector, as well as to raise the Kingdom’s rank and assessment in the Global Competitiveness Indicator. Meanwhile, work has been going on to complete another 69 recommendations, within the initiative of the "National Program for Enhancing Competitiveness” for the realization of National Transformation Program 2020 AD.
The most completed recommendations with the partnership of the government authorities are as follows: issuing business visas within 48 hours, completing the New Corporate Law, forming reconciliation committees to prevent insolvency, inauguration of the Commercial Arbitration Center, issuing the electronic certificate of origin including the adoption of the electronic signature, reducing the import and export requirements, providing ports services round the clock and releasing the commercial containers within 24 hours.
This initiative aims to increase the investments, including the direct foreign investment proportion of GDP from 3.8% to 5.7%, as one of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 objectives. Consequently, raising the kingdom’s rank to the 20th in the World Report of the Ease of Practicing Business Activities, in addition to contributing to lower unemployment rate from 11.6% to 7%, which may enhance the realization of the kingdom’s Vision 2030, besides raising the total private sector contribution in GDP from 40% to 65%, also raising the Kingdom’s rank in the Global Competitiveness Report from 25 to 10 in 2030 AD, further more increasing the proportion of the local investment from 15.6% to 19% in 2030 AD, all that through developing and attracting the investment and improving the investment environment, as well as providing incentives and raising the level of services by qualified staff and effective partnerships.
It is worth mentioning, that the government authorities are working in a team-work to complete and implement another 69 recommendations within this initiative, the most prominent ones are as follows: Modifying the Government Tenders & Procurement System, modifying the Commercial Mortgage System, determining a mandatory proportion of government contracts for the small and medium enterprises, increasing the electronic services. The initiative’s recommendations (113) are distributed on 8 hubs, including the ease of starting a business, trading across borders, access to markets, enhancing the trading system principles, enhance the transparency and stability of the regulations, the efficiency of the labor market, the basic rules for the future competitiveness, enhancing the principles of the government’s tenders.