Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia introduced a new regulatory mechanism allowing government entities to contract with international companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom, under tightly defined exemptions aimed at maintaining spending efficiency and ensuring the timely delivery of strategic projects.

As reported by the Saudi Gazette, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority has informed government bodies that exemption requests can now be submitted electronically through the ‘Etimad’ platform. The move is designed to balance the enforcement of the Regional Headquarters Program, which came into effect at the beginning of 2024, with practical project needs that require highly specialized expertise or offer exceptional financial competitiveness.

Under the original decision, all government agencies, funds, and affiliated entities were prohibited from contracting with foreign companies whose regional headquarters are located outside Saudi Arabia. The new framework allows entities to seek exemptions for specific projects, groups of projects, or defined time periods, provided requests are submitted before tenders are issued or direct contracting begins.

The authority said the exemption service was launched on Etimad in November 2025 and applies to entities that publish tenders through the platform. Older tenders or those issued outside Etimad will continue to follow earlier procedures.

The regulations do not bar non-headquartered companies from bidding, but restrict acceptance to cases where competition is limited or where bids are at least 25% lower than alternatives. Projects valued below SAR 1 million are exempt. The policy comes as more than 700 international companies have relocated their regional headquarters to the Kingdom, surpassing official targets well ahead of schedule.