RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 68 licenses to industrial units in November with investments amounting to SR735 million ($159 million), said a statement issued on Tuesday. The statement said the issuance of industrial licenses rose 14 percent as compared to the previous month and the number of industrial facilities in the Kingdom reached 10,253 as of November. According to a report issued by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information, the food industry took the major chunk of the licenses with 14 permits, followed by the chemicals industry with nine. As per the geographical distribution of the industrial units, the Riyadh region led other parts of the Kingdom with 24 licenses followed by the Eastern Province with 17. Of the total, 89 percent of the licenses were issued to small factories in November followed by 8.7 percent medium industrial enterprises. Five percent of the licenses were issued to foreign investors. The report said the volume of investments in the factories that started operations is estimated at SR1.6 billion. It said 2,383 jobs were created in the industrial sector during November.