Benefits of registering a company in Saudi Arabia

1. Full ownership: no local partners or director requirements
2. State support within the framework of the Vision 2030 strategy: the implementation of the strategy consists in attracting investments and improving the investment climate
3. Corporate tax at the level of 20%

Company registration procedure

Setting up a company in Saudi Arabia involves several stages that apply to both local and foreign entrepreneurs:

The first stage is the choice of a trade name and its reservation in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The selected name must be unique. After the name is reserved, it can be registered as a trademark.

The second stage is the preparation of constituent documents in accordance with the chosen organizational and legal form. The documents that must be prepared include articles of association and information about shareholders and directors.

The third stage consists in opening a bank account of the company to deposit the authorized capital. As soon as the local authorities issue the certificate of registration, the bank account will be activated. You must transfer certain funds to your new bank account within 60 days of opening it, or it will be blocked.

The fourth stage provides for the submission of registration documents to the Department of Companies operating under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Investors will then need to personally collect the company’s documents and then sign them at a public notary in Saudi Arabia. After that, the company’s trade name and a summary of the company’s statutory documents must be published in the official Saudi Arabian printed publication

The fifth stage is obtaining a tax number and a VAT payer number. The VAT rate is 5%. If you want to hire employees and manage personnel in the company, you still need to register with the Ministry of Labor and join the General Organization of Social Insurance.

The final stage is submitting an application for obtaining the necessary licenses and permits in accordance with the industry in which the company operates.

The registration process takes approximately 2-4 months. If the founder of the company is a foreigner, it is necessary to obtain a one-year license from the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) at the very beginning to establish the business.

What types of companies exist in Saudi Arabia?

• general partnership, which requires a minimum number of members – 2 persons with a joint authorized capital of at least 500,000 SAR (Saudi Riyals);
• a limited liability company that also requires at least 2 members but not more than 50, a minimum capital of SAR 2 million (Saudi Riyals);
• a limited liability company that requires at least 2 shareholders, a minimum share capital of SAR 100,000 (Saudi Riyals);
• a private limited company that is quite popular among foreign investors in Saudi Arabia, the minimum authorized capital is set at 2 million SAR (Saudi Riyals);
• a public limited company that can be used to carry out large transactions, the authorized capital of at least 10 million SAR (Saudi Riyals).

Foreign companies can also establish a presence in Saudi Arabia through branches and subsidiaries. Foreign investors may also be interested in free zones where you can register a company on very favorable terms.

It is important to remember: that the company’s shareholders must hold at least one annual meeting no later than 4 months after the end of the financial year.