US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley has received the regulatory green light to establish its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
“Establishing a regional HQ in Riyadh reflects the growth and development of Saudi Arabia and is a natural progression of our long history in the region,” Abdulaziz Alajaji, Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia CEO and the bank’s co-head of the MENA region said in a statement on Sunday, Bloomberg has reported.
The investment bank was one of the first international asset managers to launch a Saudi equity fund in 2009, two years after setting up an equity trading business in Riyadh.
With this most recent move, the company follows in the footsteps of other US firms, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, which have recently announced their plans to expand their presence in the Kingdom.
The influx of foreign companies into the Kingdom was further boosted by recent regulations that mandate that Saudi Arabia’s government entities only partner with international firms that have a regional base in the country with at least 15 employees, including executives overseeing other countries.
Saudi Arabia’s regional headquarters programme also includes a 30-year exemption from corporate income tax and withholding tax on headquarters activities, as well as access to discounts and support services.
This initiative has allowed the Kingdom to attract 540 international companies to set up regional headquarters in Riyadh—exceeding its 2030 target of 500, according to statements by the Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih. A report from Knight Frank has also noted that the program has led to increased demand for office space in Riyadh, with the city’s office stock expected to grow by 1 million sq. meters by 2026.
