Saudi Arabia offers widespread opportunities in all key sectors

US$ 174 billion of annual purchasing power
The Kingdom holds the world's largest reserves of petroleum (26% of proven total). Its annual purchasing power is about US$ 174 billion and the share of the private sector economic activities has reached 46% of GDP. Riyadh offers an ideal platform to participate in the Kingdom's economy with widespread opportunities in all key economic sectors.

The Riyadh Exhibition Center (REC) calendar lists international trade shows that are held in Riyadh to serve all the key economic sectors, for which a brief overview is provided in this market update.

Construction, Building, and Interiors are undergoing a second boom
The Kingdom's current infrastructure and public sector building 5 year plan is valued at US$ 35 billion. US$ 25 billion are to be spent on infrastructure network upgrade and expansion. $2 billion will be spent on housing, $6 billion on municipalities, and $2 billion on general construction. Plans also call for the building of 600 new factories, expanding university campuses, and doubling the Kingdom's desalination capacity through 300 water projects. The electrical generation, transmission and distribution projects are valued at $117 billion. 600,000 housing units are also being built over four to five years. Current hotel and office building projects in the city of Riyadh alone are valued at over US$ 1 billion.

National policy and growing population fuel agricultural sector growth
Driven by the national self-sufficiency policy and the needs of a growing population, the agricultural sector is again experiencing high growth. The current Development Plan of the Kingdom offers financial support for technologies and products that improve productivity, development of new areas of farming, improvement of quality of output, and the conservation of water. A one billion dollar provision for loans through the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank is facilitating the purchase of modern agricultural equipment and machinery. The incentives are supporting 44 new farming projects. This sector continues to grow at an impressive 8.4% annually.

Massive projects are underway in the telecommunications sector
The Kingdom is currently in a period of massive expansion of the telecommunications infrastructure. The current expansion plans a 1.5 million fixed line addition and 500,000 GSM lines network, for a total project value of US$ 6 billion. The work involves fibre optic networks, thousands of miles of fixed telephone lines, hundreds of exchanges, undersea cable links, earth station and satellite services. Private sector demand is also high for the full range of fixed and mobile telephone equipment and PBX systems.

The recently announced privatisation plans for telecommunication services are also ushering a new age for telecommunications in the Kingdom and new business opportunities for international service providers.

The Kingdom is the largest market in the region for Information Technology, E-Commerce, and Office Automation systems Computerisation at the work place and at home is rapidly spreading in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia accounts for 40% the region's IT market and the demand for related peripherals is continually rising. Another 116,000 new internet subscribers and a phenomenal growth rate estimated at 8% per month are further fuelling the demand for communications hardware and system expansion.

2,500 Saudi factories with annual sales of US$ 21.2 billion behind growth in printing, packaging and plastics sector
The plastics and chemicals sectors are amongst the Kingdom's largest and fastest developing industries second only to oil and gas. Over US$ 42 billion have been invested in developing the petrochemical industry in the Kingdom. The growth in printing and packaging has come about as a result of the high growth rates of manufacturers in the private sector. 2,500 Saudi factories with annual sales of $21.2 billion drive the growing demand. Plans call for 600 additional factories during the next five years.

The largest market for Food and Hotel Technology in the Middle East

The sector is growing at 9% to 10% annually, and sales in the soft drinks sector alone have reached over US$ 1.1 billion. The Kingdom imports over US$ 5 billion worth of food and beverage products annually, which represents 63% of all regional food & beverage imports. Also, the kingdom's own food industry is rapidly growing and expanding. Convenience food, ethnic food, health & natural foods are special growth areas.

Export opportunities are widespread for state-of-the-art medical, dental, optical, and related technologies
With healthcare expenditures estimated at 8% of GDP, Saudi Arabia is the world's largest per capita single market for medical products and equipment, and its hospitals are among the best-equipped in the region. Over US$ 3 billion are spent on the upgrade and expansion of medical facilities. New hospitals are to be built, and more than 1,800 polyclinics are being converted to 50-bed general hospitals and are in need of the latest technologies. The Kingdom's expenditures on pharmaceuticals amount to about US$ 1 billion (99% imported). The opportunities are booming for the suppliers of products and technologies for dentistry and eye care. Private sector facilities are undergoing double digit growth. Along with the renowned King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, the Kingdom's public sector also features some of the largest and best equipped eye care hospitals in the world, as well as western style dental clinics.

The Kingdom is the world's 5th largest market for automotive parts and accessories and garage equipment
Sales of automotive parts and accessories and garage equipment exceed US$ 2.3 billion. These expenditures added to one of the highest per capita spending on vehicles in the world make the Kingdom the world's 5th largest buyer and the leading market in the Middle East.

75% of disposable income spent on personal items

The size of the population and its affluence makes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the largest market in the Middle East for apparel, beauty and leather products. 50% of the Kingdom's population is under the age of 21 with about 10% to 12% in the marriage and family formation age. These demographics, and the estimated 75% share of disposable income spent on personal items, are creating a booming market for apparel, beauty and leather products.

The World Bank has estimated the needs of the environmental sector over the next ten years at US$ 100 billion
Across the Arab world, the World Bank has estimated the needs of the environmental sector over the next ten years at US$ 100 billion and the Government of Saudi Arabia is committed to preserving the Kingdom's environment, for which comprehensive environmental solutions are needed. Areas in special demand include: Water Technology Showcase, Waste Management and Recycling Showcase, Oil Pollution Control and Clean-up Showcase, Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Equipment.