SAUDI ARABIA OPENS MECCA, MEDINA TO FOREIGN INVESTORS

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Saudi Arabia on Monday said foreigners are from now on allowed to invest in Saudi-listed companies that own property in Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities.

The decision “aims to stimulate investment, enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market, and strengthen its regional and international competitiveness while supporting the local economy,” the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority said in a statement.

It said foreign investment “in companies owning real estate within the boundaries of Mecca and Madinah will be limited to shares of these Saudi companies listed on the Saudi capital market, convertible debt instruments, or both.”

However, non-Saudi ownership cannot exceed 49 percent, the authority said.

Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s largest economy and the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil.

It has for years been engaged in a vast reform agenda aimed at diversifying the economy with tourism and investment.

Mecca already receives millions of Muslim pilgrims each year but the city is undergoing massive development aimed at drawing 30 million faithful by 2030.

A project dubbed Masar, financed by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, foresees 40,000 new hotel rooms in Mecca.

The annual hajj and umrah pilgrimages brought in an estimated $12 million in revenue in 2019.

Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the holy cities.

AFP

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