Saudi investment in China surges 344% in first seven months of 2023

Saudi investment in China saw a significant surge during the first seven months of this year.

According to Al Arabiya, actual investment from the Kingdom rose by 343.7% year-on-year, indicating a growing Saudi presence in the Chinese market.

Data from China’s Ministry of Commerce showed that investment from France increased by 36.1%, while investment from South Korea was up 15.8%, including investments through free trade ports.

The ministry added that China saw the establishment of 37,711 new foreign-invested companies in the first seven months of the year, a 4.4% increase year-on-year. The manufacturing sector attracted 61.1 billion riyals (SAR, $16.3 billion) in foreign direct investment, while the services sector accounted for 178.6 billion riyals ($47.6 billion).

High-tech industries performed notably well, with actual foreign investment rising by 32.7% year-on-year to reach 101.8 billion riyals ($27.1 billion), representing 41.6% of total actual foreign investment in the country—an increase of 12.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Research, development, and design services were the fastest-growing sectors, with foreign investment up 72.1%. Investment in scientific and technological achievement transformation services grew by 62.2%, while investment in electronics and communications equipment manufacturing rose by 39.9%.