Over 500 Indian companies invest $1.5bn in Saudi Arabia: Indian ambassador

Over 500 Indian companies invest $1.5bn in Saudi Arabia: Indian ambassador

CAIRO: More than 500 Indian companies are currently operating in Saudi Arabia, with investments of $1.5 billion, India's Ambassador Awsaf Saeed has revealed. Speaking to Al Eqtisadiah, Saeed said Indian companies are well placed to take advantage of Saudi mega projects, such as NEOM, Al Qiddiya, The Red Sea Tourism Project, and Amaala. “The size of the Indian community was estimated at 2.6 million, which made it the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom, but it is certain that there are more than two million Indians working in Saudi Arabia,” he added. Saudi investments in India exceeded $3.3 billion in various economic and commercial sectors, spurred on by the announcement by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit to India in February 2019, that the Kingdom would be investing US $100 billion in India in diversified sectors. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested $1.5 billion in Jio Platforms in August 2020 for 2.32 percent of the shares, and the fund also announced an investment of $1.3 billion in Reliance Retail Ventures in November 2020. With India being the main development partner of Saudi Arabia, new areas of cooperation between the two countries in the tourism, hospitality and