Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud

But will the next three years be as good? The kingdom will, after all, now face competition from Iraq for foreign direct investment?

'It depends how the Saudi market opens up,' says Prince Abdullah, probably the most media-friendly member of the Saudi Government who holds the rank of cabinet minister. 'If things really open up then I think (FDI over the next three years) will be bigger'.

'As for Iraq, for at least the next two years we are talking about the rebuilding of Iraq and FDI as such will be very limited. The Iraqi government needs to be stable first before the economy can grow, while the Saudi market has huge opportunities for investors.

'Take the power and water sector. On conservative estimates of current population growth, we need to see investment of $50 billion a year in this sector. The Saudi market has its own momentum and potential.

'I have always been upbeat about the potential, and the problem in Saudi Arabia is not the direction we should go, but the debate is over the speed of reform. However, at SAGIA our job is to cater for individual investors who see the potential in Saudi Arabia'.

Perhaps understandably the Prince is critical of the pace of reform, and says aspect of his country he would most like to change is the 'bureaucratic mindset'. All the same reform is moving up the agenda in the kingdom at them moment and very important changes are afoot.

'It is a continuous process, and in a short time we will have new laws for financial services, mining legislation, stock market laws and an insurance framework,' says His Highness.

'At SAGIA we have three approaches to foreign investors. First, we want all sizes, big, medium and small. Secondly, we want all types, business, management and entrepreneurs. And finally we look to government policy, law, regulations and procedures and how we can regulate to support a particular type of FDI.

'Also our approach to licensing is one of simple registration, and investors really do appreciate this one-stop, or even no-stop, attitude'.

This is perhaps the major reason for SAGIA's success in attracting FDI - an open and transparent approach with all investors treated equally. It is a formula that has been widely copied in the region, and in this instance imitation does appear the sincerest form of flattery.

'To make progress we need more privatization and to shift the state from ownership to the role of regulator,' says Prince Abdullah. 'The state has to get out of the way if you want to have all types of investment'.

There seems no doubt that with privatization firmly on the agenda and the number of companies on the banned list set to decline, that Saudi Arabia will continue to attract foreign investors.