Saudi Arabia Factory Investment Surges Above $1 Billion as New Industrial Licences Drive Manufacturing Expansion

Saudi Arabia’s manufacturing push gained fresh momentum in June, as the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources approved new industrial licences carrying investments worth more than $1 billion, about twice May’s level.

The ministry issued 364 new industrial licences in June, a 36 percent increase from May. Investments tied to those licences reached SR4.46 billion ($1.19 billion), roughly double the SR2.23 billion recorded a month earlier, when 268 licences were approved.

Production gathered pace. A total of 164 factories began operations in June, up from 149 in May, a rise of about 10 percent. Ministry spokesperson Jarrah Al-Jarrah said investments in factories that started production during the month reached SR1.88 billion, with an estimated 2,567 new jobs expected. The new licences are projected to create more than 3,138 jobs.

The figures come from the monthly report prepared by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information, which tracks licences, investment volumes and factories entering production as part of efforts to improve transparency.

June’s result follows a strong April, when 322 licences were issued with investments exceeding SR12.33 billion. By the end of that month, the Kingdom had 13,660 industrial establishments, up from 12,289 a year earlier. The ministry counts all factories holding industrial licences, whether under construction or operating. The total stood at 13,870 at the end of May.

The momentum builds on a strong 2025, when the ministry issued 1,660 industrial licences, 23 percent more than the previous year, with investments above SR76 billion ($20.3 billion) and nearly 35,000 projected jobs. Another 1,201 factories began production.

The expansion forms part of the National Industrial Strategy, which aims to raise the number of factories to about 36,000 by 2035. By 2030, it targets lifting manufacturing GDP to SR895 billion, doubling sector employment to 2.1 million and raising non-oil exports to SR557 billion.

Monthly licence values have fluctuated, with April’s SR12.33 billion above May’s SR2.23 billion, but the steady flow of new licences and production starts points to sustained investor appetite for Saudi manufacturing.