Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is establishing a special economic zone (SEZ) at Riyadh’s King Khalid International airport in a bid to attract multinational investors to the kingdom, it was announced on Sunday.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the SEZ will focus on integrated logistics and will be governed by the country’s General Authority for Civil Aviation. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) will manage the attraction of investments.
The establishment of the Integrated Logistics Bonded Zone, or ILBZ, forms part of a larger effort to attract foreign investment into a number of sectors, including ICT, tourism and financial services.
“A significant proportion of global trade passes through the region, making a logistics hub in the kingdom a natural choice for any company seeing to serve international markets,” said SAGIA governor Ibrahim Al-Omar.
Al-Omar added that “this ILBZ concept and regulations were developed in close collaboration with prospect anchor tenants, reflecting the new way of doing business in Saudi Arabia, where the private sector – both local and international – are considered true partners in success.”
The ILBZ will offer support for multinationals through warehousing and fulfillment, inventory management, maintenance and repairs, staging, testing and assembly.