Saudi Arabia granted 20% more foreign investment licenses in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, with India and Egypt driving the increase despite efforts to attract American and European interest.The kingdom licensed 306 new foreign projects from June to September, compared to 254 in the corresponding quarter of 2019, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Investment.Egypt and India led the way, with 30 licenses being awarded to investors from each country, followed by the UK and Lebanon with 16 permits apiece.
The US lagged with 10 licenses, while investors from France were granted 11 -- fewer than Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan.The data didn’t include a dollar figure for the third quarter; foreign direct.