Amazon, Microsoft Boosting Saudi Offices Amid State Pressure - Bloomberg
Global technology giants including Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp. are among firms working to ramp up their presence in Saudi Arabia amid pressure from the government, which has said it will stop giving contracts to companies without regional headquarters in the country.
The three US firms have all received licenses to establish regional HQs in Riyadh, a government database shows. Those approvals came just ahead of the Jan. 1 deadline set by the Saudi government.
There was a flurry of activity towards the end of the year as large corporations look to establish local HQs. Other firms that have recently received such licenses are Airbus SE, Oracle Corp. and Pfizer Inc.
Saudi Arabia announced the new rules for state contracts in February 2021, saying it wanted to limit ‘economic leakage’ — a term used by the government for state spending that can benefit firms that don’t have a substantial presence in the country.
A key part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic agenda has been to limit some of the billions in spending by the government and Saudi citizens that leave the country each year. Government officials want to stop giving contracts to international firms who only fly executives in and out of the kingdom.
As part of his drive to boost the economy and attract international investment, MBS, as the Crown Prince is known, has loosened restrictions on gender mixing, women driving, and public entertainment. Still, the limited options available as well as policies like the continued ban on alcohol have made many foreign executives reluctant to live in the country.
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