Saudi Arabia issued 37 steel, cement export licenses after lifting ban

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce and Investment has issued export licenses to 28 steel companies and nine cement producers, since lifting ban on exports, the ministry's spokesman, Abdulrahman Al Hussein, told Al Eqtisadiah newspaper on Thursday.

Permits are granted to licensed plants, which only export final products that meet the adequate amount of the local added value, Al Hussein added.

In April 2016, the Kingdom lifted a ban on exporting cement and steel, as the local construction industry was suffering the impact of lower oil prices, Argaam reported.

A ministerial committee in July 2017 halted steel export fees for two years and cut cement export fees to 50 percent, in order to encourage local producers and promote competiveness.