RIYADH: Industrial activity in Saudi Arabia is gaining pace with more and more private firms seeking manufacturing licenses to take advantage of the Kingdom’s favorable policies aimed at driving local production. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 53 new industrial licenses in April with the investment volume touching SR5.8 billion ($1.5 billion) across seven different industrial activities. This follows the 123 licenses issued in March with an investment value of SR3.09 billion. Some 56 factories also began operating that month. Among the major applicants in April were food production firms, with nine licenses issued, closely followed by the producers of shaped metal products and other non-ferrous metal products, both obtaining eight licenses each. Other sectors such as base metals, paper and its related products, rubber and plastic products, and water treatment and supply received four licenses each. April also saw 14 new factories commence their production, with an investment of SR155 million. This included rubber and plastic factories, as well as facilities for paper, non-ferrous metals, wood, and shaped metal products. According to the latest report released by the National Industrial and Mining Information Center, a subsidiary of the ministry, small-scale facilities dominated the new industrial licenses in the Kingdom, accounting for 94.34 percent of the total issued, while medium-sized facilities comprised 5.66 percent. National factories took the largest share in terms of issued licenses by investment type, making up 66.04 percent of the total, while foreign facilities accounted for 11.32 percent. Joint venture facilities stood at 22.64 percent. The report further indicated that the ministry has issued a total of 385 industrial licenses since the beginning of the current year up until the end of April. Currently, Saudi Arabia is home to 10,873 existing and under-construction factories, reflecting an investment of SR1.44 trillion. This demonstrates an increase in monthly and yearly activity with March recording 10,825 factories and April 2022 with 10,561 factories. National factories led the pack in terms of factories initiating production, making up 85.71 percent of the total, followed by joint venture factories and foreign investment factories at 7.14 percent each. Moreover, the report indicated that April saw an addition of 1,187 employees in the sector.