RIYADH: Amid corporate Saudi Arabia’s consistent inorganic growth activities, the Kingdom has approved 41 applications for mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures during the third quarter of 2023. According to its latest report, the General Authority for Competition cleared 39 applications out of the 89 submitted without objection, while two were authorized conditionally. The authority receives applications for inorganic growth from companies, performs the relevant analyses and decides. Additionally, it looks for any breaches of competition regulations within the industries. Of the 39 requests, 36 were applications to acquire other companies, and three sought permissions to form joint ventures. Moreover, the information and communication sector and the manufacturing industry were at the forefront, with eight requests each, or 20 percent of the overall submissions. The human health and collective activities sector raised four requests, representing 10 percent of the total applications. Saad Al-Masoud, the authority’s official spokesperson, stated that the economic concentration calls from foreign entities also accounted for 62 percent of the total requests received in the third quarter. According to a report released by professional services network firm PwC Middle East, M&A activities in Saudi Arabia are expected to accelerate in 2023, as the Kingdom has become one of the most attractive markets for international companies seeking new activities. The report also noted that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aimed at diversifying the country’s economy, has also played a key role in turning the Kingdom into a hub for international investors. “Saudi Arabia is expecting a further pick up in M&A activity during 2023, despite a strong pipeline of IPOs, as the gap in valuation multiples between these two exit routes narrows for investors looking to sell assets,” said Imad Matar, deals partner at PwC Middle East in Saudi Arabia. He added: “At the same time, the Public Investment Fund will continue to spearhead outbound cross-border transactions and fuel domestic deals.” Additionally, the report claimed that the Middle East is also experiencing a surge in M&A activity as it continued to grow in 2022 despite a global recession. In 2022, most Middle East M&A activities were concentrated in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, recording 563 deals or 89 percent of the region’s total volume.