Saudi Aramco signs $7.2 billion deal to boost industry and manufacturing in the kingdom. The world's largest oil exporter said in a statement that it had signed deals with companies including DHL, Accenture and Zoom at the Kingdom's Total Value Added Forum and Exhibition. The IKTVA program refers to locally manufactured components that Saudi Aramco requires from its partners.

Saudi Arabia aims to drive domestic value creation through Aramco's IKTVA program, maximize long-term economic growth and diversification, and build supply chains to develop a globally competitive Saudi energy sector. The local supplier ecosystem is a priority for Aramco and a major contributor to the Saudi economy, said Ahmad Al Sa'adi, Aramco's executive vice president of technical services.

Through this large-scale project, we are helping to create a culture of innovation and provide quality employment opportunities for our growing population. The plan achieves 63% local content in 2022, up from 35% when IKTVA was originally launched in 2015. Gulf states have been implementing plans to bring more government spending inward to boost their local economies.

The UAE's National Domestic Value Plan is expected to increase domestic demand for local products and services to US$15 billion by 2025. Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the Arab world, announced in 2021 that foreign companies must set up regional headquarters in the country by the end of 2023 or risk losing government contracts. Companies will not be able to contract with any agency or fund affiliated with the government or its agencies if it is not headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the rule said. However, earlier this year, Saudi Arabia announced that some companies would be exempt from this requirement.

Companies with overseas operations of up to 1 million riyals can operate in Saudi Arabia without a local headquarters. Companies that compete for government contracts without any other bidders are also exempt from these rules.

In October 2021, 44 companies received government permission to set up headquarters in the country. Companies that have moved their regional headquarters by then include PepsiCo, Didi Chuxing, Unliver, Siemens, KPMG, Novartis, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Philips, Flour, Schlumberger, SAP, PwC, Oyo, Boston Scientific and Tim Hortons.Editor/XingWentao