Issued by Council of Ministers: Decision 659
Article 1
The following phrases and words—wherever they appear in this system—have the meanings assigned to each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:
System:
The System of the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority.
Ministry:
The Ministry of Investment.
Minister:
The Minister of Investment.
Authority:
The Saudi Investment Promotion Authority.
Board:
The board of directors of the authority.
Chairman:
The chairman of the board.
Chief executive officer:
The chief executive officer of the authority.
Investment promotion:
A set of works relating to encouraging investors to invest and expand their investments in investment opportunities and projects in the Kingdom, and marketing them inside and outside the Kingdom, including: Liasing with investors and organizing events, activities, exhibitions, and forums.
Article 2
The authority enjoys legal personality and financial and administrative independence. It is legally affiliated with the minister and its headquarters must be in the City of Riyadh, and it may establish branches or offices inside and outside the Kingdom as needed.
Article 3
The authority shall aim to position the Kingdom as a global and national investment destination, promote investment opportunities across all sectors in all their components, and promote works and services relating to investment promotion, in light of the general investment policies and executive plans prepared by the ministry. It may—without prejudice to the mandates and responsibilities of other entities—carry out all that is necessary to achieve its objectives, including the following:
1․ Preparing general policies relating to its activity and the plans and programs necessary to implement them, and reporting on matters that require completion of procedures in their regard.
2․ Preparing the investment promotion strategy and the plans and programs necessary to implement it, and reporting on matters that require completion of procedures in their regard.
3․ Performing works relating to investment promotion inside and outside the Kingdom, to introduce the investment advantages, opportunities, and incentives in the Kingdom. The authority may directly assign any of the mentioned works to the entity concerned with investment promotion.
4․ Managing a unified national identity to promote and attract investments to the Kingdom and activating it in coordination with the ministry and relevant entities, in order to unify messages and content and coordinate promotion and media efforts for investment.
5․ Proposing an amendment to the laws relating to its mandates, and reporting it to complete the legal procedures in its regard.
6․ Supporting investment promotion activities carried out by ministries, relevant entities, and the private sector.
7․ Setting media plans to support investment promotion, and implementing them inside and outside the Kingdom.
8. Holding and organizing meetings, conferences, forums, and exhibitions to promote investment inside and outside the Kingdom, and participating in them by any means deemed appropriate.
9․ Participating with the ministry in identifying indicators that measure investment promotion performance.
10․ Utilizing specialists and experts from distinguished national and international companies and institutions to provide professional products and tools and benefiting from their expertise in their fields of specialization.
11․ Encouraging partnerships that achieve the development objectives between the local investor and the foreign investor.
12․ Issuing the necessary approvals for government entities to hold exhibitions, forums, and conferences in the field of investment promotion.
13․ Working to attract international conferences relating to investment promotion, contributing to the development of national conferences, and supporting them, as well as creating new initiatives for this purpose, in accordance with the legal procedures.
14․ Cooperating and exchanging expertise with government entities, regional and international bodies and organizations, and similar authorities in other countries, within the limits of its mandates.
15․ Providing support for the programs and initiatives of the ministry relating to investment promotion outside the Kingdom.
16․ Collecting, recording, and following up on feedback and challenges of investors, and providing them to the ministry for resolution.
17․ Participating in international organizations and associations in relation to its mandates, in accordance with the legal procedures.
18․ Representing the Kingdom in international forums and exhibitions relating to its mandates.
19․ Preparing studies and research relating to investment promotion, and issuing periodic and specialized reports.
Article 4
The authority must have a board of directors chaired by the minister and the membership of each of:
1․ A representative from the Ministry of Investment.
2․ Representatives of government entities, not exceeding four, and those entities must be determined by an order of the Prime Minister based on a proposal from the chairman.
3․ Representatives of expertise and specialization in the fields of work of the authority, not exceeding three, whose appointment must be by an order issued by the Prime Minister based on a nomination from the chairman.
4․ The rank of representatives of government entities in the board referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article must not be less than 15 or its equivalent.
The term of membership in the board is three years, renewable once.
Article 5
The board is the supreme body of the authority. It shall supervise the management of the authority, conduct its affairs, and take all necessary decisions to achieve its objectives within the limits of the provisions of the system, in particular the following:
1․ Approving the general policies relating to the activity of the authority and the plans and programs necessary to implement them, and reporting on matters that require completion of procedures in their regard.
2․ Adopting the investment promotion strategy, and reporting on matters that require completion of procedures in their regard.
3․ Proposing an amendment to the laws relating to the mandates of the authority, and submitting it to complete the legal procedures in its regard.
4․ Approving administrative regulations in agreement with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and approving financial regulations and provisions with financial impact in other regulations in agreement with the Ministry of Finance.
5․ Approving internal regulations and other regulations necessary to conduct the work of the authority.
6․ Approving the organizational structure and manual of the authority.
7․ Approving the establishment of branches and offices of the authority inside and outside the Kingdom.
8․ Determining the fees for the work and services provided by the authority.
9․ Approving the draft annual budget, final account, and annual report of the authority, in preparation for their adoption in accordance with the legal procedures.
10․ Appointing an external accounts auditor and an internal financial controller.
11․ Approving the signing of agreements and contracts, in accordance with the legal procedures.
12․ Accepting gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and awqaf, in accordance with the provisions governing this.
13․ Reviewing the periodic reports submitted to it on the progress of work of the authority.
14․ Approving the participation of the authority in specialized international organizations and associations, in accordance with the legal procedures.
The board may—in order to achieve its mandates—form standing or temporary committees from among its members or others, to which it assigns the tasks it deems fit. The decision to form each committee must specify its head, members, and mandates. The committees may seek assistance from whomever they deem necessary to carry out the tasks assigned to them.
The board may delegate some of its mandates to the chairman, or to any of its members or authority personnel it deems appropriate.
Article 6
1․ The board shall meet periodically—at least— twice a year, and whenever necessary, as determined by the chairman. Its meetings must be chaired by the chairman or his delegate from the members representing the government entities in the board. The chairman or his delegate shall send an invite for the meeting. The meeting is valid if attended by at least a majority of the members, including the chairman or his delegate. Decisions must be issued by a majority of the votes of at least the members in attendance, and in the event of a tie vote, the side with which the chairman of the meeting voted prevails.
2․ The deliberations, decisions, and recommendations of the board must be recorded in minutes signed by the chairman of the meeting and the members in attendance.
3․ The board may invite whomever it deems appropriate to attend its meetings to benefit from their information and expertise, without them having the right to vote.
4․ A member shall not abstain from voting or authorize another member to vote on his behalf during his absence.
An objecting member may record his objection and the reasons for the objection in the minutes of the board meeting.
5․ Board meetings must be held at the headquarters of the authority. It is permitted to hold them elsewhere if necessary.
6․ The board may—when necessary, in urgent cases, and as determined by the chairman—issue a decision or recommendation by circulation, and it must be signed in a manner that indicates that all members have read it. Recommendations and decisions issued in this manner are not valid unless they are circulated and voted upon by all members of the board and obtain at least a majority of their votes.
7․ It is permitted—when necessary, in urgent cases, and as determined by the chairman—to hold meetings and vote on decisions remotely using technology.
8․ The board shall set the rules and procedures governing the holding of its meetings remotely, including determining the procedures for invitation to meetings and the mechanism of holding them.
Article 7
The authority must have a chief executive officer who is appointed and dismissed from his position by a decision by the board based on the nomination of the chairman. He must be responsible for managing the affairs of the authority, and his responsibilities must be focused within the limits of the system and decisions of the board. He shall undertake the following mandates:
1․ Supervising the preparation of general policies relating to the work of the authority and the plans and programs necessary for their implementation, and submitting them to the board.
2․ Supervising the preparation of the investment promotion strategy and the plans and programs necessary for its implementation, and submitting them to the board.
3․ Supervising the conduct of work of the authority through approved laws, regulations, plans, and programs.
4․ Contracting with experts, consultants, and think tanks to serve the objectives and mandates of the authority, in accordance with the regulations of the authority and applicable legal procedures.
5. Supervising the preparation of the administrative and financial regulations governing the authority, and other internal regulations necessary for the conduct of work of the authority, in preparation for submitting them to the board for approval.
6․ Proposing the organizational structure and manual of the authority, and submitting them to the board.
7. Proposing plans to develop the work of investment promotion in the Kingdom.
8․ Supervising the preparation of reports on the implementation of the plans and programs of the authority, and presenting them to the board.
9. Supervising the preparation of the annual report, draft budget, and final account of the authority, and submitting them to the board for approval, in preparation for completing the necessary legal procedures in their regard.
10․ Signing agreements and contracts—related to the mandates of the authority—after board approval, in accordance with the established legal procedures.
11․ Representing the authority before the judiciary, government entities, other relevant institutions, and other entities inside and outside the Kingdom, and he may authorize others to do so.
12. Disbursing from the budget of the authority and taking all financial measures in accordance with the laws and regulations approved by the board, within the limits of the powers delegated to him by the board.
13. Contracting to implement works, services, and others, in accordance with the laws and powers delegated to him by the board.
14. Proposing the establishment of branches or offices for the authority inside and outside the Kingdom.
15. Issuing the necessary decisions to implement the provisions of the system, the regulations issued based on it, and the adopted rules and procedures, in accordance with the powers granted to him.
16. Adopting work procedures based on the regulations and decisions issued by the board.
17․ Appointing and supervising authority personnel, in accordance with the regulations governing this.
18. Any other mandate assigned to him by the board.
The chief executive officer may delegate some of his mandates to the authority personnel he deems appropriate.
Article 8
Authority personnel are subject to the Labor Law and the Social Insurance Law.
Article 9
1․ The authority must have an independent annual budget.
2․ The fiscal year of the authority is the fiscal year of the state.
Article 10
1․ The resources of the authority consist of the following:
(a) Appropriations allocated to it in the general budget of the state.
(b) The fee charged by the authority for the services and work it provides.
(c) Gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and awqaf revenues accepted by the board.
(d) Any other resource approved by the board, provided that it does not violate the laws and instructions.
2․ All revenues of the authority must be deposited in the current account of the Ministry of Finance in the Saudi Central Bank.
3․ An account must be opened for the authority in the Saudi Central Bank, and other accounts may be opened for it in any of the banks licensed to operate in the Kingdom. Amounts must be disbursed from these accounts in accordance with the approved budget of the authority.
Article 11
The authority shall submit its annual final account to the Council of Ministers within 90 days from the end of the fiscal year, and a copy of it must be provided to the General Court for Audit.
Article 12
The authority shall submit to the Prime Minister, within 90 days from the end of the fiscal year, an annual report on its achievements during the past year, the difficulties it has faced, and any proposals it deems necessary to improve the conduct of work.
Article 13
Without prejudice to the mandates of the General Court for Audit, the board shall appoint one or more external account auditors licensed to operate in the Kingdom to audit the accounts of the authority and its transactions, statements, annual budget, and final account, and the board shall determine their fees. The report of the accounts auditor must be submitted to the board, and a copy of it must be provided to the General Court for Audit after its approval.
Article 14
The system enters into force from the date of its approval.
Published in Umm Al-Qura 5075 issued on 14 March 2025.