Title: Economy & Global Trade | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Headings: Economy & Global Trade
About Saudi Arabia
Economy & Global Trade
Building a modern economy
Industrial Cities
Development Plans
Government Support for the Private Sector
Banking
Trade

Content: In 1970, Saudi Arabia introduced the first of a series of ongoing five-year development plans to build a modern economy capable of producing consumer and industrial goods that previously had been imported. The country’s infrastructure was expanded, allowing industry and commerce to flourish. At the same time, the national oil company, Aramco, invested in new production facilities, pipelines, plants and shipping facilities and continued exploring for new deposits to maximize earnings from the oil sector, which were needed to fund further growth. The result has been a steady economic transformation of the country. Today, Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest developing countries in the world. Industrial Cities
While Saudi Arabia’s economic base continues to be dominated by oil, the Kingdom has taken steps to diversify the economy. Today, industrial products make up more than 90 percent of the Kingdom’s non-oil exports. Saudi Arabia exports petrochemicals, plastics, metal goods, construction materials and electrical appliances to some 90 countries. Petrochemical and other oil-based industries are concentrated at industrial cities in major urban centers. These plants use natural gas and natural gas liquids that were previously flared, as well as refined products from the oil industry to manufacture products that would in turn feed non-oil industries.