US technology giants Google, Amazon and Microsoft have joined the growing list of companies that are ramping up their presence in Saudi Arabia.
All three businesses have just obtained approvals to open their regional headquarters in Riyadh, according to a Fortune report, citing a government database.
The licenses were issued shortly before the January 1 deadline set by the kingdom for businesses to set up regional headquarters in Saudi. Othe major corporations that have obtained the permits include Pfizer, Airbus and Oracle.
The Saudi government had previously announced it would stop signing contracts with international businesses that don’t have regional headquarters in the kingdom.
The new policy is part of a strategy to “create more jobs, limit economic leakage, increase spending efficiency and guarantee that the main goods and services purchased by different government agencies are made in the kingdom,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported earlier.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Brinda Darasha)
