القصبي يطّلع على تسهيل الخدمات في «تجارة عسير»

The Minister of Commerce, Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, today reviewed the work of the Ministry of Commerce branch and the Saudi Center for Economic Business in the Asir region, observing the workflow and facilitating the services provided to customers.

Al-Qasabi inspected the collaborative branch's operations, accompanied by Assistant Minister of Commerce Abdulaziz bin Saud Al-Duhaim and several leaders from the commerce system.

He honored a group of outstanding employees in business services and commercial oversight, urging everyone to make every effort to provide quality services to the business sector and consumers.

Yesterday, Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi met with men and women entrepreneurs and investors in the Asir region to discuss their proposals and challenges and explore opportunities to develop their various sectors during his visit to the Asir region with the participation of leaders from the commerce system.

Dr. Al-Qasabi expressed his happiness at visiting the Asir region and meeting the business community. He said, “We are experiencing an unprecedented transformation thanks to the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and its inspiring leader, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The first success of the vision is the development of government work, which has started to keep pace with and even precede the private sector.”

He added, “I am honored to be with the commerce system team in Asir, a region rich in authenticity, heritage, history, values, generosity, joy, and beauty. Asir is a magical canvas that needs marketing to let people know its beauty and stunning nature, as it combines the sea, the Tihama plain, mountains, and desert, along with all the natural elements attractive for tourism.”

In a brief presentation about the commerce system's work, he discussed the development and growth of the business sector in the Kingdom, highlighting the increase in commercial registrations in the Kingdom, reaching 1.7 million commercial records, including more than 90,000 records in the Asir region, which constitutes 5.2% of the total records.

He addressed the increase in the total commercial registrations of institutions in the Kingdom, reaching 1.2 million with a growth of 9% over five years, while limited liability companies grew by 133%, reaching 462,000 records, and joint-stock companies grew by 48%, reaching more than 4,300 commercial records.

He pointed out that there are promising sectors that have recorded growth in Asir, most notably: logistics services, cargo handling and unloading services, light transport, and the operation of storage facilities, among others.

Al-Qasabi confirmed that e-commerce is witnessing significant growth, accounting for 29% of total retail payments by consumers, with more than 87 million shipments recorded in 2024, while 60% of internet users in the Kingdom conducted electronic purchases in 2023.

In the path of enhancing the legislative system, more than 110 regulations have been reviewed and developed over the past years, most notably the systems for: companies, commercial franchises, e-commerce, commercial registration, and trade names, among others, in addition to developing market rules to protect consumers, monitor prices, combat fraud, and commercial concealment, and preparing a system and strategy for consumer protection.

He clarified that combating concealment is a collaborative effort among government entities, and an electronic system has been developed to report suspected concealment cases and direct monitoring teams using data and suspicion indicators.

Al-Qasabi noted the integration of efforts by the National Center for Competitiveness with more than 65 government entities and in partnership with the private sector to achieve more than 900 economic reforms and recommendations that enhanced business competitiveness, and established 20 branches of the Saudi Center for Business in 15 cities and governorates to facilitate the initiation and practice of economic activities.