Number of licenses issued to new investors during the first half of 2021 reached 1,054 RIYADH: The number of joint ventures between Saudi and foreign investors jumped in the first half of this year with the Kingdom seeing a doubling in the total amount of investment licenses issued to Saudis and non-Saudis. Saudi Arabia’s Investment Ministry said on Sunday the number of licenses issued to new investors during the first half of 2021 reached 1,054, an increase of 108 percent as compared to the same period last year, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The ministry said joint investment licenses between Saudi and foreign investors amounted to 45 percent of the total licenses issued in the first six months of 2021, while the figure was 27 percent during the same period last year. ad The ministry said the second quarter of 2021 recorded a noticeable improvement during which the retail sector ranked first in the number of licenses issued with 24 percent followed by the industrial sector with 20 percent.