03 — Sector
Industrial & Manufacturing
The National Industrial Strategy aims to nearly triple industrial GDP by 2030, and licences, factories and incentives are moving fast to localize production.
Key figures
- Industrial facilities at end-April 2026, up 11% in a year
- 13,6601
- New industrial licences issued in 2025, worth SAR 76bn
- 1,6602
- Industrial GDP target for 2030, 2.7 times the 2020 level
- SAR 895bn3
- Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, via Arab News, September 2026
- Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, via Argaam, March 2026
- National Industrial Strategy
What is driving demand
- Localization of priority products for government and state-owned buyers
- Mandatory local-content lists and price preferences in procurement
- Special economic zones with 5% corporate tax for up to 20 years
- Automotive, pharmaceutical, food and defence manufacturing clusters
Who buys
- Government and state-owned buyers applying local-content preferences
- Industrial offtakers such as Aramco, SABIC and Ma’aden
- Private manufacturers and distributors
Typical entry route
Manufacturers typically start with a local partner or distributor to test demand, then localize assembly or production, often in an industrial city or special economic zone, to win preference in procurement.
Request a sector briefingWatch for
- From August 2026, company-level local content becomes a condition for preferences on 233 products
- SASO conformity: regulated products need certificates through the SABER platform, and machinery falls under the Machinery Safety technical regulation
- Economic participation obligations where imported content exceeds SAR 100m
- Saudization quotas in engineering (30%) and procurement (70%) roles
FAQ
Common questions
What are the incentives to manufacture locally?
Price preferences for national products (10%, with up to 20% extra for some products), mandatory local-content lists in procurement, and special economic zones offering 5% income tax for up to 20 years.
What certification does our equipment need?
Most regulated products need a Product Certificate of Conformity, valid for up to a year, and a Shipment Certificate for each consignment, both issued through SASO’s SABER platform. Machinery falls under the Machinery Safety technical regulation, and some electrical products also need a SASO IECEE recognition certificate based on a CB test report.
Where should a factory be located?
It depends on inputs, logistics and incentives: established industrial cities such as Jubail and Yanbu for petrochemical inputs, or the special economic zones in KAEC, Jazan and Ras Al-Khair.
Can we own the factory outright?
In most manufacturing activities, yes. Full foreign ownership is permitted, subject to investor registration and sector licences.
Sources for this page: Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (2026); National Industrial Strategy; Local Content and Government Procurement Authority; SASO, SABER and IECEE recognition (2026).
Reference guides
The detail behind the decision.
Local content and local manufacturing: how the numbers work
Local content can outweigh a 10% price gap in a Saudi tender. How it is measured, the exact evaluation formula with a calculator, and the incentives that make manufacturing in the Kingdom pay.
10 min readReadSaudi Arabia’s industrial zones: a map and a guide to choosing one
More than fifty industrial cities, special economic zones and hubs, run by four different authorities with four different rulebooks. Where they are, what each offers, and how to choose.
9 min readReadSaudi Arabia’s trade agreements: where a Saudi-made product goes duty-free
Saudi Arabia negotiates trade deals through the GCC. What is in force, what has just been concluded, including the UK deal of May 2026, and the rules of origin that decide whether you benefit.
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