Vision 2030 and its recent ongoing drive in Saudi Arabia to privatise public assets, deregulate and diversify the economy have resulted in a need to develop a dynamic legal and regulatory platform to support the evolving nature of today's economy. Our experts examine the recent regulatory changes and address the potential challenges of this reform.

The Kingdom's 20 million citizens and almost 7 million expats will also witness further social changes that require a more flexible regulatory and legal landscape

With the aim of restructuring an economy and society, the government has paid particular focus on reforming its regulatory and legal environment, as these go hand in hand to ensure the stability and progress of the country. 

Instant Licensing 

One of the most recent examples showing the country's commitment to ensure that the regulatory framework is in-line with economic deregulation is the launching of a new licencing service by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority which only requires written approval for a project/service from a local university or business incubator in order to form a legal entity to carry out the business – announcements and services such as these embody the government's efforts to reduce obstacles and difficulties that may face the entrepreneurs in setting up their projects in the Kingdom.

Challenges Mean Opportunities

However, despite having sought and embraced the advice and consultation from the world's top financial minds and institutions, the Saudi Arabian leadership have acknowledged that, like any strategy of the same nature and magnitude, the vision comes with its own set of risks and could even have a destabilising effect if not correctly implemented. 

Bearing the above in mind, it is important to remember that with risks come opportunities.  Saudi Arabia is hoping to maximise returns on more than USD2.5 trillion of national assets, which brings huge opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, foreign governments and other business entities.

With such high numbers at stake, even if a small portion of the government's economic vision is fulfilled, investors will have a wide range of compelling investment opportunities in many areas of business.

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