Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment hosted the Saudi-Japan Ministerial Investment Forum in Riyadh, gathering senior government officials and private-sector representatives from the two countries.

Speaking during the forum, Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih revealed that 18 Japanese companies opened their regional headquarters (RHQ) in Riyadh, noting that the ministry granted more than 120 investment licenses to Japanese companies.

He highlighted that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in Saudi Arabia have doubled since the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, reaching SAR 119.2 billion in 2024, compared to SAR 28.1 billion in 2017.

Al-Falih added that the FDI stock in the Kingdom recorded SAR 997.3 billion, up from SAR 501.8 billion in 2017.

The Saudi-Japanese cooperation spans various key areas, notably real estate technology, biotechnology, gaming, and startups and SME support.

The forum was attended by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha, President of the Saudi Esports Federation Faisal Sultan, and Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Ryosei Akazawa. It witnessed the signing of 12 MoUs the aim to strengthen investment and trade cooperation between the two countries and facilitate access to investment opportunities.