An investment that reflects a long-term relationship and a permanent interest of economic entities that exist in economiesy other than the Saudi economy. This means that the foreign investor owns 10% or more of the shareholders' equity, which enables the foreign investor to exercise some kind of influence on the decision-making process in a way that serves its interests. Thus, this process is described as foreign direct investment.
Survey objectives
- Assisting decision-makers and policymakers to enhance the foreign investment environment.
- Developing appropriate strategies to attract investments from decision-makers.
- Contributeing to the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030.
- Collectioning and analysis ofzing data on foreign direct investment inflows and distributions.
Data collection tools
Key concepts
- FDI Inflows for FDI:
They involve financial transactions between a foreign direct investment entity, direct investors, and related companies outside the Saudi economy. These transactions take place over a specific timeframe. Inflows are characterized by their positive effect, manifesting as an increase in equity rights and/or debt instruments.
- FDI Outflows for FDI:
They involve financial transactions between a foreign direct investment entity, direct investors, and related companies outside the Saudi economy. These transactions take place over a specific timeframe. Outflows are characterized by their impact in reducing liability aspects, such as through the payment of dividends, payment of loans, settlement of creditor dues, or when a direct foreign investor exits.
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What do we mean by investment?
Expenditure on capital assets over a period of time. This is made to achieve a net increase in the real capital of Saudi economy. Investment can be carried out either by individuals or companies or is financed by governments.
What do we mean by foreign investment?
Directing the savings of a certain economy within a geographical region to establish new real capital assets or own them in the economy of the Kingdom within one of its geographical regions.
What do we mean by foreign direct investors?
The foreign direct investor can be an individual, a company, a government, or a group of interconnected individuals or affiliated companies operating in a country other than the residence country of the foreign direct investor or the countries of foreign investors. This is contingent upon owning 10% or more of the common stock or voting power in that entity.
What is the difference between resident and non-resident companies?
Resident: Any individual, company, or organization inside Saudi Arabia, including subsidiaries, branches, and sales offices. It also includes residents or those who have previously resided in Saudi Arabia for one year or more.
Non-resident: Any individual, company, or organization outside Saudi Arabia, including foreign subsidiaries, branches, and sales offices. it also includes individuals residing abroad for one year or more.
What are the key indicators of foreign investment?
Net foreign investment flows
Inflows
Outflows
Privacy Policy
The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) is a government entity with an independent legal personality. It is the only official statistical reference for implementing, supervising, and regulating the statistical work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provides statistical products in social, economic, and environmental fields to support policymakers and decision-makers in advancing the implementation of development plans.
You can contact us by clicking on contact us link in our website, or send an email to: info@stats.gov.sa
Date of last update:
The last update on the privacy notice was made on (update date).
What is personal data?
Any data, regardless of its source or form, that may lead to identifying an individual specifically, or that may directly or indirectly make it possible to identify an individual, including name, personal identification number, addresses, contact numbers, bank and credit card numbers, photos, and videos of an individual, and any other data of personal nature.
What personal data is collected?
Various types of personal data and information is collected, which cover all aspects of life in the Kingdom: (demographic, social, economic, environmental, and cultural), including but not limited to:
Full name, age/date of birth, sex, address, contact information (e.g.: email address and phone numbers), ID number, marital status, current job information, previous job information, information about dependents/spouse/household.
How is personal data collected and what is the purpose?
Personal data is collected and obtained "directly or indirectly", using various methods, which include:
- Direct methods of obtaining personal data:
- Field visit to the household or establishment by GASTAT’s staff or one of its representatives.
- Phone call by GASTAT’s staff through the unified phone number:199009.
- Self-completion on GASTAT’s website.
Indirect methods of obtaining personal data:
Collect cookies and data on how you use our site, including your visit date and time, and the type of browser you use.
By collecting data, GASTAT aims to produce official statistics that serve the public interest, i.e., any personal data collected, whether it belongs to the individual, or on behalf of another individual, will be used for statistical purposes and the production of official statistics.
How do we use your personal data?
We use personal data collected directly or indirectly to produce official statistics that serve the public interest, and support policymakers and decision makers in advancing the implementation of development plans. GASTAT is the only official statistical reference for implementing, supervising, and regulating the statistical work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
How do we share your personal data?
Your personal information won't be given to any third party for the purpose of direct marketing. We are also dedicated to protecting the confidentiality of all Saudi Arabia’s resident data, and not disclosing it. GASTAT abides by the participation guidelines that the regulators have approved. We also pledge to enforce the laws governing data confidentiality, non-disclosure, and personal data protection vigorously and strictly.
The legal basis for collecting and processing personal data:
According to the policy of personal data protection issued by the National Data Management Office, the legal basis for collecting and processing personal data is:
- our explicit consent, and you can withdraw your consent at any time except for some exceptions explained above, and to do so you can contact the Data Governance Department.
- Legal Obligation: The regulations and bylaws in force - including Royal and High Orders - are a legal basis on which GASTAT can rely if the collection and processing of personal data is necessary to comply with these statutory requirements.
- Public Interest: Statistics collected from personal data aim to support policymakers, and decision makers to advance the implementation of Saudi Arabia's development plans.
How do we store your personal data?
Your personal data is stored securely in the technical assets of GASTAT in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Your personal data is kept for a specified period, after which we dispose of this data securely so that it cannot be accessed or restored again, based on GASTAT’s data preservation and destruction policy.
Rights of personal data owner:
Under the personal data policy, you have the following rights, which depend primarily on the purpose of collecting and processing personal data:
- Right to access personal data: you have the right to request a copy of your personal data, such data will be provided to you within seven working days via email DPO@stats.gov.sa.
- Right to dispose personal data: you have the right to request the disposal of your personal data in certain circumstances that do not contradict with the legal basis based on which data was collected.
- Right to restrict data processing: you can restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances and for specific period of time.
- Right to object to processing: you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data that is not inconsistent with the legal basis.
- Right to transfer your personal data: you have the right to ask us to transfer your personal data - collected directly from you - to another party, or to deliver it to you for a fee. This right cannot be exercised if your consent is the legal basis for processing.
Except as otherwise specified, you are not required to pay any fees for exercising these rights, and in the event that a request is made to exercise one of these rights, you will be responded to within (7 days) from the request date.
Furthermore, it should be stressed here that some of these rights (the right to data disposal, the right to data transfer, and the right to object to processing) are not absolute rights but rather depend on the primary purpose and the legal basis mentioned earlier. Other than that, they are regarded as absolute rights.
For more details about the processing of your personal data and how to exercise your rights, you can contact the Data Protection Officer at GASTAT using the contact information provided below:
Email: DPO@stats.gov.sa
Except as stipulated, you are not required to pay any fee for the exercise of these rights, and if an application is made to exercise one of these rights you will be answered within (7 days) of the date of application.
It must also be emphasized here that some of these rights (the right to destroy data, the right to transmit data, the right to object to processing) are not absolute rights, but rather depend on the main purpose and statutory basis referred to earlier, and otherwise are absolute rights.
For more details about the processing of your personal data and how to exercise your rights, you can contact the Authority's Personal Data Protection Officer according to the contact data below:
Email: DPO@stats.gov.sa
How to submit a complaint?
If you have any complaints or issues regarding our adherence to the National Data Management Office's policy regarding the protection of personal data, you can contact the Data Governance Department via email at info@stats.gov.sa.
You can email the GASTAT’s Data Governance Department at DPO@stats.gov.sa to file a complaint if you are dissatisfied with how we handled your complaint or if we did not reply to you within three working days.
If GASTAT’s Data Governance Department does not resolve your complaint within 7 days, you may also file a complaint with the National Data Management Office about how we use your personal data.
Address of National Data Management Office:
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.
Website: Complaints (sdaia.gov.sa)