Saudi Arabia Opens Most Sectors to Full Foreign Ownership

Saudi Arabia has reshaped its rules for foreign investors, making 100% foreign ownership the default across most sectors under the new Investment Law issued by Royal Decree M/19, which took effect on 12 February 2025. Investors now register with the Ministry of Investment (MISA) rather than obtaining a separate ownership licence.

The former foreign investment licence (the MISA/SAGIA licence) has been repealed and replaced by a digital process known as the National Register of Investors, or MISA Investor Registration. Registration is completed through the Invest Saudi / MISA online portal — not through Absher, Qiwa or Najiz. Any activity that does not appear on the negative "Excluded Activities" list is open to full foreign ownership, subject to normal regulatory licensing.

Sectors generally open to 100% foreign ownership include information technology and communications, manufacturing and industry, healthcare, professional services, construction and contracting, education and training, tourism and hospitality, entertainment, retail and wholesale trade including e-commerce and franchising, transport and logistics, renewable energy, mining, agriculture and food processing, and selected financial services subject to SAMA or CMA regulation.

What remains restricted

Some strategic sectors are not fully open and may require Saudi participation, ownership caps or special approvals. These include defence industries and military services, certain upstream hydrocarbons and oil-and-gas exploration, security services, specific media activities, and some real-estate activities in Mecca and Medina.

Separate real estate reforms take effect on 22 January 2026. Under those changes, foreign residents who are natural persons will be able to own personal residential property in the Kingdom, excluding Mecca and Medina, while fully foreign-owned private entities gain wider property rights.

For the Kingdom's large expatriate and business community, the changes simplify how companies are established and expanded, cutting paperwork and giving investors clearer, more predictable rules on where full ownership is permitted.

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