Saudi Gazette report

HAIL — Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi said that the growth of Saudi trade exchange in terms of goods and services exceeded SR2.5 trillion during the year 2023. “The number of commercial registrations in the Kingdom crossed 1.54 million by the end of October 2024,” he said.

The minister made the remarks while addressing businessmen and women, as well as entrepreneurs and investors in the Hail region. He listened to their proposals and challenges faced by them to develop their various sectors. During his visit to Hail, Qasabi met with Emir of Hail Prince Abdulaziz bin Saad at his office in Hail on Wednesday.

Al-Qasabi said that the growth of e-commerce constitutes 8 percent of the total trade in the Kingdom in 2022, and its revenues are expected to reach SR260 billion by the year 2025.

The minister said that there have been reviews and updates in the Commerce Law with more than 110 legislations during the past eight years, most notably the new Companies Law, E-commerce Law, the Commercial Franchise Law and its executive regulations, and there is a Consumer Protection Law in its final stages. He also pointed out that market rules have been developed to protect the consumer, monitor prices, combat fraud and commercial cover-up, in addition to the launch of a consumer complaints center and a recall center, a compliance system for electronic inspection and control, and a system for monitoring inventory and commodity prices. He explained that the inspection teams in the Hail region carried out more than 34500 inspection visits during the current year, and processed more than 19700 commercial complaints.

The minister stressed that the Hail region possesses unique components, a heritage legacy and geographical diversity. He revealed that commercial registrations in the Hail region recorded a growth of 27.9 percent during the past five years, reaching more than 33000 commercial registrations.