China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Enters #Saudi Economic Enclave With New Plant - Bloomberg

China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Enters Saudi Economic Enclave With New Plant - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia has unveiled a flurry of new investment projects led by the world’s biggest steelmaker as the kingdom dangles incentives for companies willing to operate in its special economic enclaves.

China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. will commit 15 billion riyals ($4 billion) to build a plant for steel plate manufacturing in a new economic zone in Ras Al-Khair on the kingdom’s eastern coast, according to an announcement made at an event in Riyadh on Monday.

Domestic names such as Himmah, which is establishing an auto-parts export hub catering to Africa and the Middle East, will drive capital into some of the other special areas that authorities are setting up across the country and which already attracted the likes of Lucid Group Inc. as anchor investors.

Saudi Arabia wants to turn the areas into gateways for investment by offering preferential corporate tax rates, exempting companies based there from many customs duties and allowing for full foreign ownership of businesses.