RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued licenses to 124 industrial units in January, according to an official statement. The total investment value of these units is estimated at SR2.4 billion ($639 million). The factories will be established in five economic sectors. According to the official data, 29 licenses were issued in the food sector, 18 permits were given for work in non-metallic minerals, 12 in the chemicals industry, 11 for the manufacture of formed metals excluding machinery and equipment, and eight licenses were issued for the manufacture of rubber products. The new industrial units are dispersed across 12 regions in the Kingdom. Forty-four factories were licensed in Riyadh, 24 in Makkah, 24 in the Eastern Province, 10 in the Qassim region, eight in Madinah, five in Jazan, three in Asir, two in Hail, one in Northern Borders province, one in Tabuk, one in Al-Jouf province, and one in Najran. Official data indicated that small-sized enterprises accounted for 86.29 percent of the newly issued licenses in January, followed by medium-sized enterprises with 11.29 percent, and micro-enterprises with 2.42 percent. According to the type of investment, national plants topped the new licenses with 79.84 percent, followed by foreign establishments (10.48 percent), and joint investments comprised 9.68 percent of the total number. The number of factories that commenced production in January reached 164 with total investments amounting to SR2.7 billion.