Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Taking rapid strides to enhance the investment environment, Saudi Arabia recently updated the investment law to offer greater transparency, flexibility, and confidence. The law consolidates the freedoms and rights of existing investors into a single framework and promotes fair competition while reducing regulatory barriers.

Accordingly, the number of global companies that obtained licenses to establish regional headquarters (RHQ) in Riyadh reached 517 during the first half (H1) of 2024, surpassing the Vision 2030 target of 500 companies, according to an official report.

The ‘Pre-budget Statement FY 2025’ report, released by the Ministry of Finance, revealed that attractive investment opportunities were generated to reach about 1,777 approved opportunities until H1-24, exceeding the 2024 target of 1,197 opportunities.

During the same period, around 146 investment deals amounting to SAR 118 billion were concluded across several key sectors, contributing to creating jobs, raising the quality of services, and enhancing sustainable economic growth.

It should be mentioned that the Saudi RHQ Program entered into effect in January, mandating foreign companies to have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom to start or expand their businesses there.

To streamline the process, the Ministry of Investment added a 30-year tax relief incentive package to the program, offering a 0% rate for corporate income tax (CIT), withholding tax (WHT) on dividend payments from RHQ to its foreign parent entity, WHT for payments to related parties, and WHT for services payments to non-resident unrelated parties necessary to carry out RHQ activities as defined in the tax rules.