Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 158 new industrial licenses in October 2023 with an investment volume of SAR 11.5 billion, a recent report issued by the ministry’s National Industrial and Mining Information Center revealed.

The new licenses covered five industrial activities: food products (31 licenses), non-metallic materials (21 licenses), fabricated metals excluding machines and equipment (17 licenses), electric equipment (11 licenses), and rubber and plastics (11 licenses).

The small-sized enterprises seized 83.54% of the industrial licenses issued in October 2023, followed by the medium-sized enterprises with 12.03% of the licenses, and micro-sized enterprises which represented 3.8% of the total licenses.

Furthermore, the report showed that the number of factories that started production in October 2023 hit 113 with an investment volume of SAR 12.237 million, creating more than 3,300 jobs.

Moreover, the number of existing factories in Saudi Arabia reached 11,388 in October 2023 from 11,273 in September 2023.