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Saudi Arabia
NON-OIL INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
During the 1980s, the government established, virtually from
scratch, a modern industrial sector. The industrialization process
had two goals: first, the use of the kingdom's enormous gas production
as industrial inputs to produce chemicals and petrochemicals for
export and, second, the construction of energy-intensive industries,
some for import-substitution purposes and others to meet infrastructural
needs. The government also established state-of-the-art industrial
cities and facilities to support its industrial program, including
those at Al Jubayl and Yanbu.
By the early 1990s, the vast majority of these plants had been
completed, and few major expansions were planned. Infrastructure
requirements had largely stabilized and were adequate to meet
the needs of the population and industry for much of the 1990s.
Therefore, the government concentrated on maintenance and on improving
productivity and efficiency. Moreover, with the onset of serious
budgetary constraints, the government's role in advancing the
domestic industrialization process grew more indirect. The government
was forcing a number of state-owned industrial institutions to
seek financing for their new capacity-expansion programs from
nontraditional sources such as domestic and foreign commercial
banks, stock markets, and private investors. In an ongoing attempt
to encourage more private sector investment in manufacturing,
particularly in light industries, local business received incentives
in the form of production and consumption subsidies.
Data as of December 1992
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