During the Ninth Ministerial Conference organized yesterday by Asharqia Chamber in partnership with the Council of Saudi Chambers:
The Minister of Commerce and Investment reviews the commercial and investment incentives for the business sector in the Eastern Region.
Al-Khalidi: The Kingdom has strengthened the role of the private sector in various activities and fields
On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, Asharqia Chamber in partnership with the Council of Saudi Chambers organized the Ninth Open Ministerial Conference that entitled, "Commercial and Investment Catalysts in the Eastern Region" at Dhahran International Exhibition Center (Expo Dhahran), under the patronage and participation of the Minister of Commerce and Investment HE Dr. Majed Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi with the presence of the Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Engineer Saleh bin Ibrahim Rashid, the chairman of the Chamber, Abdul Hakim bin Hamad Al-Ammar Al-Khalidi and a number of members of the Board of Directors and officials and business sector in the region.
The conference is one of the initiatives of the private sector stimulus plan.
His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi during the conference highlighted the approval of the Council of Ministers on the structure and the new organizational guide of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment through accessing to service centers in the ministry to the first place among government agencies as the best performance according to the indicators of the National Center to measure the performance of public agencies.
He also explained that the system of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment is working to support the investment environment in the Kingdom, where the Ministry has launched several initiatives and programs supporting emerging companies in partnership with the Council of Saudi Chambers and Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
HE Al-Qasabi affirmed the partnership between the Ministry and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in developing the business environment by contributing to overcoming obstacles and challenges facing the private sector and working to develop mechanisms that contribute to facilitate its work and support its growth to be a strategic partner in the Vision of the Kingdom 2030.
He said that the private sector stimulus plan came to support the growth of the private sector and included four initiatives related to small and medium enterprises.
He stressed that the Ministry is working with government agencies currently to combat commercial fraud because of its negative impact on the growth and sustainability of small and medium enterprises over the past period of more than 500,000 products that have been seized in the local market.
He added that the Kingdom has many economic assets that have no parallel in the countries of the world, and here comes the role of the private sector in taking advantage of these elements and creating value added to them, and taking advantage of the opportunities available to develop the industry of conferences and forums.
He also pointed out that the Ministry is working to establish an electronic trading center to keep pace with changes in world trade and opening new markets for national companies.
The work is based on the establishment of a bank lending to small and medium enterprises to contribute to the support and growth of these enterprises and meet the aspirations of our good government.
The Ministry seeks to activate the electronic system in the voting of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as the first experiment will be for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Unaizah.
In turn, the Governor of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Engineer Saleh bin Ibrahim Rashid said that the Authority is working on launching a financing platform that will make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to know the financing institutions and the mechanism of submission and knowledge of the conditions and obtain approval in principle.
He added, "We have also developed the infrastructure of the SME lending bank to reach the desired goal, facilitate financing for the private sector, and strengthen the role of enterprises."
He pointed out that the Authority launched the Saudi Investment Company for Corporate Venture Capital, which will be operating according to three major programs, and that the company started to invest in the number of projects.
The first is to invest in projects concluded by SABIC with small and medium enterprises through the Nosaned program.
He pointed out that the Kingdom, through its Vision 2030, aims to raise the volume of lending to small and medium enterprises to about 20% of the volume of lending in the Kingdom.
For his part, the Chairman of Asharqia Chamber Abdul Hakim bin Hamad Al-Ammar Al-Khalidi stressed that the conference is of great importance in supporting the private sector in all its fields that represents an opportunity to strengthen public-private partnerships, as one of the main components of the National Transition Program 2020 and the Vision of the Kingdom of 2030.
Al-Khalidi said, "Under the guidance of its wise leadership, the Kingdom has charted a well-defined road map towards national and sustainable economic growth and has strengthened the role of the private sector in various activities and areas as being able to activate the cycle of economic growth in the country, which is achieved mainly through the arms and minds and funds of the sons of this giving country."
He also pointed out that the Vision of the Kingdom of 2030 and the new trends in the structure of the national economy by diversifying the economic base and opening the way for the private sector to participate in drawing the course of the economy of the Kingdom and maximize the local content in the national industry are the beginning of the new phase of the sector towards strengthening its ability to implement the objectives and aspirations of the Vision.
Al-Khalidi pointed out that in light of the new economic trends, the participatory growth between the public and private sectors and the movement in different sectors of all types, this conference comes in cooperation with the Council of Saudi Chambers with the aim of enhancing opportunities for public-private partnerships.
It is considered as a means to attract more private investments to the various economic sectors in the Kingdom, led by the commercial and industrial sector, as they constitute an added value to the national economy, which is currently witnessing a number of catalysts and a state of mobility in the face of its challenges and ways of treating them, which deserves all praise and appreciation from us.
He added, "We hope that these meetings will further support our national choices and create a greater role for local investments in the national economy."
At the end of the conference, His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Al-Qasabi, was honored by the Chamber's Chairman, Abdul Hakim Al-Ammar Al-Khalidi, and all participants with memorial shields.
The conference also witnessed an open dialogue on all issues and topics related to investment incentives in the region.
The conference is one of the initiatives of the private sector stimulus plan, which is supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and following up directly by His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, who mandated the Council of Saudi Chambers to oversee the implementation in order to enhance communication and integration between the public and private sectors.
