Saudi Arabia attracted nearly 81 billion Saudi riyals ($21.6 billion) worth of industrial investments in 2023 within its 2030 strategy to diversify its oil-reliant economy, according to official data.

The investments covered 1,379 industrial units licensed by the Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry, it said in a report published by Okaz daily on Thursday.

The report showed 1,058 units with a total investment of around SAR45 billion ($12 billion) have started operations.

The report expected a surge in licenses for industrial and mining activities, noting that the value of mineral wealth in the Kingdom has been massively revised up to more than SAR9 trillion ($2.4 trillion).

The report showed investments in 2023 boosted the total number of factories in Saudi Arabia by around 10 percent to 11,549 at the end of 2023.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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