The Investment Ministry wants private companies to disclose information about their investments abroad,the Saudi Gazette reports, citing remarks by Minister Khalid Al Falih.
Among the data the ministry wants private investors to file on their direct investments abroad:
- Name of the country and city of the investment;
- Investment duration with start date;
- The sector(s) in which they are investing;
- Investment value in USD;
- Ownership or partnership structure.
The pitch: The Ministry intends to use the information gathered to help local investors and companies to better tap into new global markets and secure more business, said Al Falih, without providing further information. He says the ministry will use the information it collects to inform its future policies.
“The ministry has the right to do whatever is necessary in order to achieve its objectives,including establishing a database of investment and its indicators in the Kingdom,” Al Falih added, without clarifying whether taking the questionnaire is mandatory.
GASTAT is doing something similar, but for the local market: The General Authority for Statistics is conducting a survey to collect data about business activities in the local market. This is expected to cover businesses of all sizes across all sectors and geographical scopes. The move is also aimed at updating the base year used in calculating the GDP.