Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2667 actions· ✨ 89 recent

CEER, Saudi Arabia's PIF-backed electric-vehicle manufacturer, signed 16 commercial localisation agreements worth over SAR 3.7 billion (~USD 986 million) with domestic and international suppliers at the fourth PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh on 9 February 2026. The agreements cover components including EV coolants, brake fluids, aerodynamic covers, front-end modules, polymer compounds, automotive glazing, HVAC systems and body-shop equipment, and build on SAR 5.5 billion in agreements signed at the same forum in 2025. CEER states the localisation drive targets sourcing 45% of vehicle materials and components from Saudi companies by 2034.

On 16 January 2026 the Saudi Council of Ministers, via Cabinet Decision No. 468/1447 (issued 30 December 2025 / 9 Rajab 1447H), published in the Umm Al-Qura Official Gazette four sets of implementing regulations governing the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), Ras Al-Khair, Jazan, and Cloud Computing & IT Special Economic Zones. The regulations entered into force on 16 April 2026 (90 days after gazette publication) and operationalise the SEZ framework first launched by ECZA in April 2023. Each zone has its own standalone framework but they share a common headline tax package: 5% corporate income tax for up to 20 years, zero VAT on intra-SEZ and SEZ-import flows, customs-duty suspension on qualifying imports, withholding-tax exemption on dividends and approved cross-border payments, and exemption from key provisions of the Saudi Companies Law, Commercial Register Law, and Trade Names Law. KAEC focuses on advanced manufacturing, automotive, consumer goods, ICT and pharmaceuticals; Ras Al-Khair targets shipbuilding, offshore rigs and MRO; Jazan covers food processing, metals conversion and logistics for Africa-bound trade; the Cloud Computing SEZ is a virtual zone (data centres can sit anywhere in KSA, headquarters must be in Riyadh) for cloud and AI-compute workloads. The package is the operational implementation layer for the 2024 Investment Law and a core Vision 2030 FDI-attraction instrument.

The Saudi Council of Ministers adopted Resolution No. 269 on 11 October 2025, amending the Precious Metals and Gemstones Law to transfer all supervision, regulation, and licensing of precious-metals and gemstones manufacturing activities from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM). The Ministry of Commerce retains authority over retail trade outlets and consumer-facing commercial activities. A six-month transition window — announced jointly by MoC and MIM on 16 October 2025 — requires all existing manufacturing practitioners to obtain an industrial licence through the "Sanai" platform; mandatory hallmarking, gemstone identification tagging, and consumer-documentation standards also take effect under the revised regulatory framework.

Alat, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company established to advance Saudi Arabia's advanced-manufacturing ambitions under Vision 2030, closed a EUR 160 million (~USD 185 million) joint venture with Germany's TK Elevator on 5 August 2025 to manufacture and service elevators, escalators, and moving walks in Saudi Arabia for the Saudi and wider MENA market. Alat separately acquired a 15% long-term equity stake in TK Elevator itself. The JV establishes what Alat and TKE describe as the first elevator/escalator manufacturing operation in Saudi Arabia by a global company, including a product-development centre and training facility, and is a direct antecedent to the later TKE ALAT groundbreaking on a ~SAR 285 million (~EUR 65 million) manufacturing facility in Dammam's Third Industrial City.

On 11 August 2024, King Salman issued Royal Decree No. M/19 promulgating Saudi Arabia's new Investment Law (Nizam al-Istithmar), which entered into force on 12 February 2025 (180 days after publication in the Um Al-Qura' Gazette). The law replaces the 2000 Foreign Investment Law (Royal Decree M/1) and eliminates the statutory distinction between Saudi and non-Saudi investors, establishing a unified national-treatment framework: foreign investors no longer require a separate MISA foreign-investment licence and instead complete a streamlined registration with a national registry before commencing activity (other than listed securities, which remain under CMA rules). The law codifies fair-and-equitable treatment, freedom to manage and repatriate capital, IP protection, and protection from expropriation except by final judicial ruling with prompt compensation; activities are open by default, subject only to an "Excluded Activities" list maintained by an inter-ministerial committee. Implementing Regulations were issued by Ministerial Resolution No. 1086 dated 8/8/1446H (7 February 2025) and published in Um Al-Qura' Gazette issue 5083 on 25 April 2025. The law is the foundational FDI architecture for Vision 2030 and pairs with the 30-year RHQ tax-incentive package and the 2021 Mining Investment Law.

On 18 October 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Saudi Arabia's National Industrial Strategy (NIS) under the Vision 2030 umbrella, with delivery led by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM). The strategy prioritises 118 segments within 12 industrial sub-sectors (including downstream chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery, and metals), identifies more than 800 investment opportunities estimated at ~USD 266bn, and sets binding 2030/2035 targets: triple manufacturing GDP by 2030, raise industrial exports to SAR 557bn (~USD 148bn), bring cumulative additional investment to SAR 1.3 trillion, and grow factories from ~10,000 to ~36,000 by 2035. NIS sits alongside the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP, 2019) and the Public Investment Fund's strategic-sector mandates as the third leg of the Kingdom's non-oil-economy build-out.

The GCC Bureau of Technical Secretariat for Anti-Injurious Practices in International Trade (GCC-TSAIP) imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of 33% on imports of aluminium alloy plates, sheets and strip (HS 7606.12.00 and 7606.92.00) originating in China, effective across all six GCC member states (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman). The investigation was initiated 29 April 2020 and the definitive measure entered into force on 22 July 2021 (GAFT imposed date), with expiry on 21 July 2026. A sunset review was initiated on 21 April 2026; the duty remains in force pending its outcome.