Saudi Arabia aims to lead retail sector, stimulate investments: Official

Ammar Naqadi, Vice Minister of Economy and Planning

Saudi Arabia seeks to lead and shape the future of retail sector by harnessing the digital revolution and transforming the Kingdom into a regional hub for e-commerce through a digital ecosystem and logistics center, said Ammar Naqadi, Vice Minister of Economy and Planning.

He told the Retail Leaders Circle Summit that the retail is one of the largest non-oil sectors in the Kingdom, ranking first in the employment of Saudis, with females dominating the largest number of jobs in the sector.

The Kingdom is keen to facilitate the attraction of new local and international investors as it continues to align legislation with the business environment to stimulate and encourage more investments and comprehensive growth in the sector, Naqadi said.

He added that there is a plenty of opportunities that enhance the growth of the retail sector and boost supply in the Kingdom, including meeting the growing population demand as the population of Riyadh is expected to double by 2030.

Further, the official expected the existence of new population centers around major projects such as NEOM, the Red Sea and Qiddiya, noting that the Kingdom targets 140 million tourists by 2030.

He also stressed the importance of meeting the growing demand by boosting supply, quality, diversity and access to meet consumer needs in various regions of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is working on developing huge malls, new experimental destinations, and smart community centers, which are all part of the Quality of Life Program.

Naqadi highlighted the need to modernize the traditional retail sector by raising standards and introducing in-store technologies to attract more customers, improve the sector's productivity, and increase its economic contribution.

This will contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the retail sector and attracting more investors, which means identifying opportunities to improve the efficiency of daily business operations from licenses to approvals, in addition to clarity regarding fees and facilitation of materials movement, Naqadi concluded.