1 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center

2 Attracting sufficient investment to achieve rapid and sustainable economic growth in Saudi Arabia, capitalizing on the Kingdom’s competitive strengths as the global capital of energy and as a major hub between East and West SAGIA’s Vision SAGIA’s Mission Positioning Saudi Arabia among the world’s most competitive nations through the creation of a pro-business environment, a knowledge-based society, and by developing new, world-class “Economic Cities” SAGIA seeks to encourage investment, embrace innovation, and enhance the Kingdom’s competitiveness

3 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center National Competitiveness Center: Driving Change Provide data-driven, objective advice on competitiveness improvement opportunities Establish Competitiveness Advisory Councils in a number of important sectors, bringing together the key private and public sector stakeholders Publish the annual Competitiveness Review and other sector competitiveness reviews Solicit advice from top consulting firms Measure 300 indicators of competitiveness from international sources (e.g., WEF, IFC, and others) To plan, orchestrate, and publicize reforms and competitiveness enhancement efforts in the Kingdom NCC’s Purpose

4 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center Transportation Infrastructure Projects Under Construction Current Rail Landbridge North-South Haramain Jeddah Buraydah Ras Al-Zawr Ha'il Jubail Riyadh Al-Hadeetha Dammam Medina Mecca Railroad Expansion Multiple freight and passenger railways are under development, these will –Increase and facilitate tourism –Transport resources from the north to industrial centers –Transport goods across the country and to export markets Road Construction 8,250 km of roads will be constructed over the course of bringing the total network up to 183K km from 42K in 1994 Airport Expansion $US 666 million is being spent to develop, create, and expand 23 airports, including Madinah, Taif, Najran, and other regional airports Jeddah’s airport will have a capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually Red Sea Terminal/ Jeddah Islamic Port The Port will have the capacity to hold 1.8 MM shipping containers The total capacity for Jeddah ports will reach 6 MM containers by 2011 Airport Expansion Straddling the east and west, Saudi Arabia recognizes the potential of its transport and logistics sector to drive competitiveness and has invested heavily in supporting infrastructure

5 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center Launched Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, jointly with the Customs Department, the Saudi EDI has allowed paper forms to be completely replaced by the electronic submission of customs declarations, both for imports and exports, and of shipping manifests. Saudi Arabia has also ushered in important reforms to streamline customs procedures and reduce the costs of importing and exporting 1 Established “Single window” for customs clearance at Jeddah Port Previously, traders and brokers had to travel between numerous “satellite” offices in the port and to private banks, located outside the port. Now, traders and brokers can accomplish all tasks under a single roof 2 3 Reduced port handling fees by 50% 4 Increased use of x-rays to inspect containers These reforms have made it cheaper and faster to move goods into and out of Saudi Arabia

6 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center Global Competitive Index: 2007 MENA Country Ranks Global Competitive Index: 2010 MENA Country Ranks These reforms and investments have contributed to Saudi Arabia’s growing competitiveness, as seen in the World Bank’s Global Competitiveness Index… Saudi Arabia 32 Tunisia 31 Qatar 30 KuwaitSyria 77 Egypt 49 Jordan 43 Bahrain 42 Oman 37 UAE 97 Egypt 81 Syria 65 Jordan 37 Oman 35 Bahrain 34 Tunisia 32 Kuwait 25 UAE 21 Saudi Arabia 17 Qatar Note: Saudi Arabia did not appear in the GCI rankings prior to the Report Source: Global Competitiveness Report 2007–2008, Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011, World Economic Forum Saudi Arabia has moved from 35 th to 21 st in the last 4 years, and is now 2 nd in the MENA region

7 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center Annual FDI Inflows ($B) into Saudi Arabia Due to the financial crisis FDI inflows declined by 7%, but this was much lower than most other countries; the US declined by nearly 60% And have contributed to its reputation as a desirable destination for foreign direct investment, as shown by UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2008 CAGR 79% Saudi Arabia leads the region in FDI in-flows and had the 8 th largest amount globally in 2009 Source: UNCTAD

8 Copyright © 2009 The National Competitiveness Center IFC’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Rank, Saudi Arabia, These reforms and investments have also made KSA an easier place to do business, as shown in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 67th Countries Ranked 38th Countries Ranked 38th Countries Ranked 23rd Countries Ranked 16th Countries Ranked Reforms across Saudi Arabian government agencies have vaulted the Kingdom into the Top 20 for “Ease of Doing Business” Source: Doing Business 2011; World Bank / IFC; NCC Analysis 13th Countries Ranked Countries Ranked 11th