RIYADH: A new scheme making it easier for Saudi businesses to export has issued more than 200,000 certificates of origin documents since its launch at the beginning of the year. The Kingdom’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources launched the program on Jan. 1, and up to the end of June some 203,932 of these documents were handed out to local exporters and manufacturers. The internationally recognised certificates show in which country a commodity or good was manufactured, and enable smoother global commerce. The scheme is part of the Kingdom’s goal under the Vision 2030 economic transformation initiative to increase the share of non-oil exports to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product from 16 percent to 50 percent by the end of the decade. According to the London-based broker Trade Finance Global, the certificates ultimately make a product more cost-efficient to buyers and easier to sell. According to the ministry, this service also aims to support the national industry and facilitates procedures that lead to the growth and development of Saudi exports. The ministry explained that the certificates targets industrial establishments, the commercial sector of companies and institutions, and individuals, including farmers, fishermen, and others. The certificates come in four varieties: first is provided to local products of countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the second is dedicated to products of Arab countries. The third is a preferential type that is dedicated to Arab and GCC countries exporting to countries and economic federations with which they have free trade agreements. The ministry identified the fourth type as offered in both Arabic and English, which is reserved for the remaining countries that are not granted preferential treatment. Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector is seeing unprecedented expansion, with investments in the Kingdom’s manufacturing environment exceeding SR495 billion ($132 billion) in the seven years since Vision 2030 was launched. To boost this further, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 99 new industrial licenses in May — a move that is expected to secure SR20.1 billion in new investments. Small enterprises acquired 89 percent of the new industrial licenses, followed by medium enterprises which bagged 10 percent of the permits, while micro-enterprises accounted for 1 percent.