Deputy commerce minister explains requirements for partnerships between Saudi, foreign investors

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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce set several requirements for a foreigner to enter into a partnership with a local investor or own an establishment, according to the corrective period for violators of the anti-concealment law, Al Eqtisadiah Newspaper reported, citing Deputy Minister of Commerce, Ayed Algwinm.

The requirements include the total revenues of the facility reaching more than SAR 40 million, or the number of employees exceeding 50, Alqwinm said.

The requirements also included that the commercial register should be prior to the date of the corrective period, in addition to the right to gradually provide capital for three years, and the approval of the Saudi sponsor.

Applying for correction of the breach of concealment does not require the consent of both parties, as one of the parties could apply for a correction, either to be a partner or owner of the establishment or to obtain privileged residence for small entities, and the corrective period exempted the requirement of the international presence of the beneficiary enterprise.

The applicant for rectifying the situation has the right to enter into the immunity circle, where it does not mean continuing with the concealment, but to continue until the situation is corrected and the corrective period is over.

The Ministry of Commerce's National Program for Combating Commercial Concealment started the corrective period granted to violators of the anti-cover-up law on Feb. 28, 2021, and will run through Aug. 23, according to data available on Argaam.