RIYADH: Investment in chemical product manufacturing helped drive up the number of factories in Saudi Arabia by 2.86 percent in the first quarter of 2023, according to the government. Figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources show the total number of industrial facilities hit 10,819 by the end of March — up from 10,518 factories at the end of 2022 — with the estimated capital of these factories amounting to over SR1.43 trillion ($381 billion). The bulletin revealed that chemical product manufacturing plants attracted the most investment, followed by producers of other non-metallic mineral products and basic metal factories. As part of its goal to diversify its economy away from oil under the Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi Arabia has made more than 700 regulatory changes in a bid to attract foreign investments to its industrial sector. The bulletin showed that national factories lead by type of investment, pulling 83.5 percent of all funds, followed by foreign-owned factories with 8.5 percent, then factories with joint ownership by 8 percent. The Riyadh region recorded the largest percentage of the total number of factories with about 4,194, followed by the Eastern province with 2,476, then the Makkah region with 2,068. The bulletin also indicates that small factories represent the largest percentage of the total, reaching 5,654, followed by medium-sized facilities, which made 4,341, and then large plants, which recorded 824 of the total. There are some 725,563 workers in these factories, with Riyadh topping the regions with nearly 268,000 employees, followed by the Eastern province where 183,193 laborers are working. The Al-Baha region registered the least number of workers, with 1,605. The Eastern region led the size of investment in the factories with SR603 million, and with a change rate of 0.3 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Earlier this week, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources announced it has begun evaluating the second tranche of facilities as part of its “Future Factories Program” to modernize the sector. The initiative seeks to establish a strong technological ecosystem and transform the manufacturing sector in alignment with modern practices and principles. The program will evaluate 260 licensed factories operating at different levels of technical development. Each factory will hold an authorized capital of over SR200 million.