New Saudi decision aims to make Riyadh one of world’s top 10 city economies RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it will stop signing contracts with foreign companies from 2024 unless their regional headquarters are based in the Kingdom. Saudi Minister of Investment Khaled Al-Falih stated in a telephone interview on Bloomberg Asharq that the new decision was part of Saudi Vision 2030, which was discussed in the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh last month, and that it would provide investment opportunities for global companies. Al-Falih highlighted in his interview with Asharq that 24 international companies have said they intended to move their regional headquarters to Riyadh. The decision to limit government procurement and investment contracts to companies located in Riyadh will be an additional motivating factor for the request of hundreds of international companies to be present in the financial district of the Saudi capital. Al-Falih pointed out that the decision is only limited to government contracts and does not affect the private sector’s investments and contracts that operate according to its own governance rules. (Video from Bloomberg Asharq) The door will thus be open for international companies not present in Riyadh to enter into economic partnerships with the private sector. “Competition is required, and the decision does not contradict the rules of competition. It will rather support the presence of international companies near neighboring countries, thus providing investment opportunities for global companies, which will be present in the region near the decision-making areas,” said Al-Falih, commenting on the decision’s impact on competition with other major Gulf countries and cities that work to attract international companies. Al-Falih tweeted earlier that the decision will be positively reflected in the form of creating thousands of jobs for citizens, transferring expertise and localizing knowledge. It will also contribute to developing local content and attracting more investments to the Kingdom.