SAUDI ARABIA - Abdul Rahman Al-Tuwaijri.

The Secretary-General of the Supreme Economic Council (SEC), which is chaired by King Abdullah, Tuwaijri is a key decision maker for the kingdom's economy. He has been close to King Abdullah for many years, including the period before he became crown prince and monarch. Tuwaijri is a member of the Saudi Aramco's board of directors and chairman of the Capital Markets Authority (see DT in down17SaudiWhoOct22-07). Thanks to his efforts and those of other top officials, Saudi Arabia in 2006 was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Arab world, having attracted $18 bn, up 51% over 2005.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a report issued on Oct. 16, attributed the increase to the region's strong economic growth and improved business climate and to high oil prices which had attracted increasing amounts of FDI to oil, gas and related industries as well as to telecom, tourism and financial services.

The unprecedented increase in FDIs came after Riyadh took a series of SEC-recommended measures to attract foreign investment. The SEC in March 2007 revised a "negative list" allowing foreign investment in vital sectors like insurance services, wholesale and retail trade, air and train transport, and communication services.

Arab News on Oct. 18 quoted Tuwaijri as saying the SEC opened new economic sectors for foreign investment in line with the king's reforms aimed at strengthening the economy, attracting more FDI and enhancing private sector participation. The negative list of investment was also revised to comply with Saudi Arabia's commitments the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTI). The kingdom became the 149th member of the WTO in December 2005. Tuwaijri said: "Also commercial agencies, except franchise rights, are now open for foreign investment".

According to the UNCTAD report, FDI inflows to the 14 economies of West Asia surged 44% in 2006 to an unprecedented $60 bn. Turkey topped the list with $20 bn, up 100% over 2005. Saudi Arabia came second with $18 bn and the UAE was third with $8 bn (down 23%). Jordan with $3.1 bn and Bahrain with $2.9 bn, were in fourth and fifth positions, respectively.

Efforts by the six GCC states to diversify their production beyond oil-related activities succeeded in attracting greater FDI flows to the manufacturing sector. Saudi Arabia, leading the GCC, now is the top ranked economy in the Middle East.

Amr al-Dabbagh, governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), said the jump in the new UNCTAD ranking was a major step towards achieving the "10 by 10" goal sought by SAGIA to place the kingdom in the top 10 countries in terms of investment. Arab News on Oct. 18 quoted Dabbagh as saying: "Saudi Arabia has become the number one recipient of foreign direct investment in the Middle East. Inflows have increased from $2 bn to $18 bn in the last two years".

The SAGIA chief said the figures would grow more rapidly with the development of the kingdom's six new economic cities, and special economic zones which are attracting top global companies with major investment opportunities. King Abdullah launched four mega-economic cities in Rabigh, Ha'il, Madinah and Jizan, which are expected to draw SR300 bn in investment and create more than a million jobs.

Arab News quoted Abdul-Rahman Mousa, an investment specialist at SAGIA, as saying: "With Saudi Aramco's recent expansion of refineries and the building of the kingdom's economic cities, foreign investment in the country has become more attractive to investors abroad, mainly due to the liberalization of investment rules in which SAGIA has played a vital role".