RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 90 new industrial licenses in June, which were distributed over five industrial sectors.

Industries associated with the manufacturing of non-metallic minerals bagged 18 licenses followed by food products with 14 and 12 permits were issued for the manufacturing of fabricated metal products.

Nine licenses were issued to manufacture rubber and plastic products while seven permits were issued for the production of chemicals.

A report issued by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information indicated that the total number of industrial licenses issued by the ministry since the beginning of this year amounted to 501. 

The number of existing and under construction factories in the Kingdom until the end of the same month reached 10,675, with investments amounting to SR1.361 trillion ($361 billion).

The report also showed that with the issuance of new licenses the volume of investment in June alone amounted to more than SR2 billion.

It also indicated that small enterprises acquired most of the new industrial licenses during the same month with a rate of 83.33 percent, followed by medium enterprises with 14.44 percent, then micro-enterprises with 2.22 percent.

It also showed that the new industrial licenses were distributed over 11 administrative regions, topped by the Riyadh region with 32 licenses.

The number of jobs provided by the industrial sector during the month of June reached 5,706, of which 3,245 went to Saudis, and 2,461 to expatriates, according to the report.