The Trade and Investment System under the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, witnessed a great prosperity in light of His Majesty directives towards enhancing the investment environment in the Kingdom for the realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, aiming at raising the efficiency of the Saudi economy.
Three years have passed since the accession of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to the rule of Saudi Arabia. During this period, the Trade and Investment System in the Kingdom has witnessed great leaps through the amendment and enactment of laws and regulations that go in line with the government's tendency to create an attractive investment environment, that will be reflected positively on the national economy and contribute in creating job opportunities and attracting new investments.
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has issued more than 1.2 million C.R. for enterprises and companies by mid-December 2017, and more than 168,000 C.R. for businesswomen during the same period.
The Ministry's statistics showed that the total capital of the companies that were established and those converted into closed joint stock companies, during 1438H, amounted to more than 23 billion riyals, thus increasing the growth rate of the capital of the closed joint stock companies to 49%, compared to 1437H. Also the average of corporate capital increased from 3 to 5 million riyals during the same period.
The Kingdom has made progress and great leap in the World Index for the ease of starting up and practicing business in 2018, following the implementation of many reforms and measures that have contributed to improving the business and investment environment and have boosted the investors’ confidence. The World Bank Group report ranked the Kingdom the second among the top high income countries, and the second among G20 best performing countries, in terms of implementing reforms to improve business environment among the top 20 reformist countries in the world.
For the realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, a number of initiatives have been launched to improve the business environment and to reduce the procedures of business start-ups. Online links have been established with several government authorities, also “Meras” initiative has been launched as well as the Integrated Service Center for Meras, which provides more than 74 e-services to 16 Government authorities under a single platform.
The Ministry's e-services have also reduced the procedures for starting up and practicing a business, such as assigning the trade name and issuing C.R., to be carried out online in one step for the establishments and three steps for the companies. A link has been established with a number of government agencies, so that in one step a trader can get the C.R., Labor and Social Insurance File, Zakat & Income File, Registration Certificate of the Chamber of Commerce, besides the renewal and amendment of C.R. through using Security Verification Mechanism of the Ministry of Interior and "Absher" service.
A number of technical initiatives, aimed at improving the business environment, have recently been launched, too. The most important of which is "Wosool" service, which aims at facilitating communication among business owners in the Kingdom and those wishing to communicate with them, whether individuals or commercial establishments. This will be reflected positively on the development process and contribute to creating investment opportunities among businessmen. In addition to power of attorney online service, which enables the owners of making or amending power of attorney on line for completing the procedures of getting C.R.
The power of attorney online service comes as part of a series of e-services launched by the Ministry to facilitate the procedures and transactions for business owners for the realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, in cooperation with the strategic partner, Thiqa Business Services Company.
MCI has recently launched the Business Center in Riyadh, which comes as a continuation of the development process in the services provided to the business sector, which the Ministry has been expanding in accordance with the latest methods and technology. This center provides the following services: Issuing C.R, Trademarks, Trade names, Permits of Gems & Jewelry, and other services of the Ministry.
This Center applies the concept of a comprehensive employee within a new and sophisticated work environment, based on modern technologies that facilitate the procedures and save the time for customers. A dedicated area of self-service has been allocated, along with specific routes and groups for each service. A specialized team has been provided to take care of customers, also to answer their queries and provide them with all support. With regard to empowering women’s role and supporting businesswomen to accomplish their trade activities and to enhance their participation in various aspects of economic life, an independent women's business center has been established and equipped to provide all needed services.