Arab News, Monday, Aug 23, 2021 | Muharram 15, 1443
Saudi Arabia invites foreign, local firms to invest in 74 military projects
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s General
Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) is inviting local and international
companies to benefit from a number of military projects as well as launching a
digital platform for investors to access local military industry.
GAMI has identified 74 investment
opportunities, across six domains of the military industries sector, the
authority said in a statement on Sunday.
The authority has launched a digital platform
called the Military Industry Marketplace (MIM) that links local industry
projects with investors that are authorized and licensed by the authority.
The authority has announced targeted opportunities
in supply chains in the military industries sector aiming to enhance the
Kingdom’s efforts to localize more than 50 percent of military spending by 2030.
“We have covered a lot of ground in a very short
time in terms of localization. With the supply chains in the military industries
sector and targeted opportunities our localization efforts will gather even more
momentum and strengthen the military industries ecosystem to prove once again
the Kingdom’s role in the defense market,” GAMI’s Gov. Ahmad Al-Ohali said.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in its defense
industries to reduce reliance on imported military hardware as well as add
higher value jobs in the Kingdom.
The number of licensed companies in Saudi Arabia’s
military sector rose sharply in the first half of the year, according to GAMI
data.
It reported a 41 percent increase in licensed
companies to reach a total of 99 — 85 percent of them local companies. More than
half (55 percent) were granted to operating companies while military services
providers accounted for 24 percent and product suppliers accounting for the
rest.