A guide to setting up a business in Saudi Arabia (page 4 of 5)

There is a branch of this department within Sagia.

Contracting activity
1 The investor must submit three financial statements for its operations outside the kingdom, covering the three years before it has requested its licence. The statements must be prepared by a certified accounting firm and ratified by the tax office and Saudi embassy in the investor's home country. They will be used to demonstrate the investor's operations are financially sound.
2 The investor must submit to Sagia completion certificates for major projects it has undertaken in the same field in which it plans to invest.
3 The company must be classified in its home country in the same activity and must be classified as at least a third-class contractor or its equivalent. Its classifications must be ratified by the Saudi embassy in its home country.
4 The firm must submit to Sagia a bank guarantee proving each partner has access to at least SR250,000, and this must be ratified by the Saudi embassy. (Recently, Sagia stopped allowing individuals to invest in contracting, preferring investment to come from large companies with more experience.)
5 Consultancy work may only be carried out by an LLC.
6 The business must submit a schedule for completing each stage of the project to Sagia.
7 The company must commit to deposit its capital in a bank licensed in the kingdom after Sagia has issued an investment licence. It must submit the investment and deposit certificates to the commercial registration department of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Real estate activity
1 Foreign investors may only deal in properties worth more than SR30m.
2 The property must be developed and leased or sold within five years of the investor beginning its activity on the project.
3 The property must be outside the borders of Mecca and Medina.
4 The company must submit a bank certificate for the capital or the share of each partner. This must be ratified by the Saudi embassy in the firm's home country.
5 The company must submit a schedule for the completion of each stage of the project to Sagia.
6 Before it can invest in property, the business must submit a study from a local, approved engineering firm showing the value of the land and the aggregate cost of the scheme.
7 A company must commit to deposit its capital in a bank licensed in Saudi Arabia after Sagia has issued an investment licence. It must submit the investment and deposit certificates to the commercial registration department of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Specialised services
Under Sagia's classifications, specialised services include communications and tourism.
1 The firm must obtain permission from the government body that regulates the field in which it will operate. For example, the Communications and Information Technology Commission, or the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.
2 The company must submit a schedule for the completion of each stage of the project to Sagia.
3 The business must submit to Sagia a commitment to invest its capital in a bank licensed in Saudi Arabia, once Sagia has issued its investment licence. If the capital is more than SR5m, the company does not have to deposit the whole amount but can deposit 25 per cent of it. It must submit the investment and deposit certificates to the commercial registration department of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Non-specialised services
1 The company must submit to Sagia a commitment that 10-50 per cent of workers in its facilities will be Saudis.
2 After Sagia has issued its investment licence, the firm must submit a schedule for the completion of each stage of its project.
3 The company must submit a bank certificate to Sagia proving each partner has access to SR250,000.