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A FLOURISHING
RETAIL SECTOR
A DEVELOPED DIGITAL
INFRASTRUCTURE
Over the past decade, the retail sector achieved an
annual growth rate in excess of 10 percent. It currently
employs 1.5 million workers, of which only 0.3 million
are Saudis. Traditional retail also still dominates 50
percent of the market in the Kingdom compared to 20
percent in a number of countries in the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), with our retail market suffering from
limited penetration of modern trade and e-commerce.
We aim to provide job opportunities for an additional
million Saudis by 2020 in a growing retail sector that
attracts modern, local, regional, and international
brands across all regions of the country. We also aim to
increase the contribution of modern trade and
e-commerce to 80 percent of the retail sector by 2020.
This will be achieved by attracting both regional and
international retail investors and by easing restrictions
on ownership and foreign investment.
A sophisticated digital infrastructure is integral to
today’s advanced industrial activities. It attracts
investors and enhances the fundamental
competitiveness of the Saudi economy.
We will partner with the private sector to develop the
telecommunications and information technology
infrastructure, especially high-speed broadband,
expanding its coverage and capacity within and around
cities and improving its quality. Our specific goal is to
exceed 90 percent housing coverage in densely
populated cities and 66 percent in other urban zones.
We will also develop building standards to facilitate the
extension of broadband networks.
We will strengthen the governance of digital
transformation through a national council. Additionally,
we will improve our regulations and establish an
effective partnership with telecom operators to better
develop this critical infrastructure. We will also support
local investments in the telecommunications and
information technology sectors.
To this end, we will facilitate local and regional flow of
goods and develop necessary sectoral regulations. We
will also increase financing of small retail enterprises to
stimulate their growth and development.
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