Saudi Arabia Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019

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Saudi Arabia Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019
Doing Business 2019   Saudi Arabia

                                       Economy Profile

                                     Saudi Arabia

                                                         Page 1
Saudi Arabia Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019
Doing Business 2019       Saudi Arabia

                                              Economy Profile of Saudi Arabia

                                              Doing Business 2019 Indicators
                                         (in order of appearance in the document)

Starting a business                 Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company

Dealing with construction permits   Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality
                                    control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system

Getting electricity                 Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the
                                    electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs

Registering property                Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration
                                    system

Getting credit                      Movable collateral laws and credit information systems

Protecting minority investors       Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance

Paying taxes                        Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as
                                    well as post-filing processes

Trading across borders              Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts

Enforcing contracts                 Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes

Resolving insolvency                Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the
                                    legal framework for insolvency

Labor market regulation             Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality

                                                                                                                                       Page 2
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

About Doing Business

The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected
cities at the subnational and regional level.

The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying
to them through their life cycle.

Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative
indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit,
protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also
measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.

By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time,
Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves
as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.

In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve
performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region
and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.

The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that
have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these
11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.

More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)

                                                                                                                                                   Page 3
Doing Business 2019                Saudi Arabia

         Ease of Doing Business in
                                               Region                 Middle East & North Africa                               DB 2019 Rank
                                                                                                               190                                        1
              Saudi Arabia
                                               Income Category        High income
                                                                                                                                       92

                                               Population             32,938,213
                                                                                                                        DB 2019 Ease of doing business score
                                                                                                                0                                100

                                               City Covered           Riyadh                                                                63.50

                                                            DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score

                        0                                                                                                              100
                                                                                                                81.28: United Arab Emirates (Rank: 11)

                                                                                                   67.19: Oman (Rank: 78)

                                                                                             63.50: Saudi Arabia (Rank: 92)

                                                                                           60.98: Jordan (Rank: 104)

                                                                                         58.56: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 120)

                                                                                       58.30: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)

Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100
represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.

Rankings on Doing Business topics - Saudi Arabia

         1                                                                                         7

                                                               24
         28                     36

         55                                                                                                                                     59
                                               64
                                                                                                                78
         82
 Rank

                                                                                112
        109

        136      141

                                                                                                                               158
        163                                                                                                                                                     168

        190

               Starting       Dealing        Getting        Registering        Getting         Protecting     Paying         Trading         Enforcing        Resolving
                  a            with         Electricity      Property          Credit           Minority      Taxes          across          Contracts        Insolvency
               Business     Construction                                                       Investors                     Borders
                              Permits

Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Saudi Arabia

        100

                80.07                         79.89           81.61                              80.00
        80                    75.71                                                                            75.00

                                                                                                                                               63.41
Score

        60                                                                                                                     54.31

                                                                               45.00
        40

        20

                                                                                                                                                                 0.00
         0

               Starting       Dealing        Getting        Registering        Getting         Protecting      Paying        Trading          Enforcing       Resolving
                  a            with         Electricity      Property          Credit           Minority       Taxes         across           Contracts       Insolvency
               Business     Construction                                                       Investors                     Borders
                              Permits

                                                                                                                                                                           Page 4
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

     Starting a Business

This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.

To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10
and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two
types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the
other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.

The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.

 What the indicators measure                              Case study assumptions

Procedures to legally start and formally operate        To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
a company (number)                                      business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
                                                        readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or
  reservation, notarization)
                                                        The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business        - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
  city
                                                        of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
• Postregistration (for example, social security        is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
  registration, company seal)                           lawyers or the statistical office.
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a             - Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
  business or to leave the home to register the         also collected for the second largest business city.
  company                                               - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
                                                        - Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
• Obtaining any gender specific document for
  company registration and operation or national        has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least
  identification card                                   100 times income per capita.
                                                        - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
Time required to complete each procedure                of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
(calendar days)                                         activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
                                                        liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering                 - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
  information
                                                        amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2            capita.
  procedures cannot start on the same day)              - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded        - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
  as ½ day                                              operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
                                                        - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• Procedure is considered completed once final
  document is received
                                                        The owners:
• No prior contact with officials                       - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of          assumed to be 30 years old.
income per capita)                                      - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
                                                        - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
• Official costs only, no bribes                        - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
• No professional fees unless services required by      man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
  law or commonly used in practice                      answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.

Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per
capita)

• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party
  before registration or up to 3 months after
  incorporation

                                                                                                                                                     Page 5
Doing Business 2019         Saudi Arabia

Starting a Business - Saudi Arabia

  Standardized Company

 Legal form                                                             Limited Liability Company

 Paid-in minimum capital requirement                                    SAR 0

 City Covered                                                           Riyadh

  Indicator                                             Saudi Arabia       Middle East &          OECD high             Best Regulatory
                                                                           North Africa           income                Performance

 Procedure – Men (number)                              10                  7.2                   4.9                    1 (New Zealand)

 Time – Men (days)                                     17                  20.5                  9.3                    0.5 (New Zealand)

 Cost – Men (% of income per capita)                   6.6                 22.6                  3.1                    0.0 (Slovenia)

 Procedure – Women (number)                            12                  7.9                   4.9                    1 (New Zealand)

 Time – Women (days)                                   19                  21.2                  9.3                    0.5 (New Zealand)

 Cost – Women (% of income per capita)                 6.6                 22.6                  3.1                    0.0 (Slovenia)

 Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita)         0.0                 8.1                   8.6                    0.0 (117 Economies)

 Figure – Starting a Business in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score

                                                    DB 2019 Starting a Business Score

       0                                                                                           100

                                                                                          94.06: United Arab Emirates (Rank: 25)

                                                                                         92.89: Oman (Rank: 37)

                                                                                  84.43: Jordan (Rank: 106)

                                                                                  84.11: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 109)

                                                                              82.00: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)

                                                                            80.07: Saudi Arabia (Rank: 141)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.

                                                                                                                                                Page 6
Doing Business 2019   Saudi Arabia

  Figure – Starting a Business in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                   Time (days)        Cost (% of income per capita)
                                                                                                                                         5
               18

                                                                                                                                             Cost (% of income per capita)
               16
                                                                                                                                         4
               14

               12
 Time (days)

                                                                                                                                         3
               10

               8
                                                                                                                                         2

               6

               4                                                                                                                         1

               2

               0                                                                                                                         0
                    1    2       3          4          5          6         7          8          9         10         11        * 12
                                                               Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                             Page 7
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

Details – Starting a Business in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

No.    Procedures                                                                                    Time to Complete     Associated Costs

1    APPLIES TO WOMEN ONLY: Obtain a stand alone ID card for a woman                                1 day                no charge
      Agency : Home
      Procedures and forms to apply for a national identity card are different for men and
      women. When obtaining a stand alone ID, an adult Saudi woman has to be identified by
      her guardian (father or husband if married). If the guardian is not available, she can go
      with a muhram (a male relative that a woman cannot marry, such as an uncle), a Saudi
      female relative who holds an ID, two Saudi females (non-relatives) who hold IDs.

      Moreover, a Saudi woman applying for an ID must bring the family book of her husband.
      Married women do not have their own family book.

      This ID card is not just for opening a business but for any activity a woman might have to
      do. For example, going to university, staying alone at a hospital, etc.

2    APPLIES TO WOMEN ONLY: Obtain husband's permission to leave the                                1 day                no charge
      house
      Agency : Home
      If a woman fails to obtain the permission/support of her husband in leaving the home (for
      example, for entrepreneurial ventures) it is possible that she may suffer consequences
      under the law; for example she may not be entitled to financial alimony.

3     Reserve the company name and submit Articles of Association                                    5 days on average    no charge
      Agency : Unified Center (UC)/Companies Department
      To initiate a company incorporation process, entrepreneurs or their third-party
      representatives (commonly lawyers) need to fill out the necessary forms with information
      about the company. Through the same platform entrepreneurs select a company name and
      submit Articles of Association. Within 5 days, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
      will complete the due diligence of all the submitted documents. Once the due diligence
      process is completed an entrepreneur receives an SMS stating that the Articles of
      Association are ready to be notarized. Also, at the end of the registration the newly
      formed entry is assigned a company number.

4     Notarize the Articles of Association with the Notary Public                                    1 day                no charge
      Agency : First Notary Public
      The notary public is located in the same building of the UC. After the articles of
      association are submitted online to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it takes a few
      days for MOCI to review electronically submitted AOA and for the person to come on-
      site and get it stamped, as well as retrieve the letter of capital deposit from MOCI.

      The notary public reviews all the documents to make sure that they are complete.
      Currently, the notary public reviews up to 15 companies per day. The notary’s office
      consists of about 5-6 employees.

5     Pay Company Registration Fees                                                                  Less than one day    SAR 1,200 for
      Agency : Ministry of Commerce and Industry                                                     (online procedure)   commercial
      The fees are only paid after a notary signs the Articles of Association and a notary clerk                          registration + SAR
      processes the information in the online system. Then, an entrepreneur or his                                        2,000 a fee to
      representative receives an email and an SMS stating that the payment can now be made.
                                                                                                                          become member of
      Most entrepreneurs make payments through SADAD (https://www.sadad.com/). All fees
                                                                                                                          Chamber of
      are submitted at one.
                                                                                                                          Commerce + SAR
                                                                                                                          500 e-magazine
                                                                                                                          publication fee

6     Open a bank account                                                                            1 day                no charge
      Agency : Bank
      The entrepreneur open a company bank account at a bank of choice. After the certificate
      of registration is issued, the company founders go back to the bank to unblock their
      capital deposit and activate their bank account. It is required to open a bank account
      within 90 days starting from the issuance date of the commercial certificate of an LLC.

7     Obtain a Business Location License from the Municipality                                       4 days               SAR 1,000
      Agency : Municipality of Riyadh
      In order to obtain a business location license from the municipality an entrepreneur needs
      to go to the Municipality and present the lease, commercial registration certificate as well
      as a map indicating the exact location of the business. Then, the Municipality appoints an
      investigator who goes and inspects the property and confirms the precise location.
      Afterwards, the investigator submits the final report to the municipality and if everything
      is in order, the Municipality issues a license and assigns to it a 10-digit identification
      number.

                                                                                                                                               Page 8
Doing Business 2019            Saudi Arabia

8     Register with the Ministry of Labor                                                             1 day                no charge
      Agency : Ministry of Labor
      In order to register with the Ministry of Labor, the company must submit its certificate of
      registration, articles of association, Chamber of Commerce attested signatories and the
      business location license. Registration with the Ministry of Labor is needed to register
      with the General Organization for Social Insurance. Registration can be made online or in
      person. If the entrepreneur chooses to register online, they must then submit the original
      documents in person as well.

9     Register with the Post Office “Wasel”                                                           Less than one day    SAR 500
      Agency : Post Office                                                                            (online procedure)
      Registering with the Post Office “Wasel” can be done in person, but a majority of
      entrepreneurs prefer to compete the registration online through the following webportal:
      https://balady.gov.sa. In order to complete the registration, an entrepreneur needs to create
      an account, log in with the already existing information, such as geographic location,
      address and zip code. Then, a payment is submitted through the same website. After
      which, a registration certificate is issued electronically. A company must register with the
      post office "Wasel" every year.

10    Make a company seal                                                                             1 day                SAR 50
      Agency : Seal maker
      The seal must include the Certificate of Registration number and the name of the
      company. It costs around SAR 40-50 to make. It is needed to attest signatories at the
      Chamber of Commerce, register with the General Organization for Social Insurance and
      for the companies’ invoices. It is commonly used in practice. The seal is always used on
      the following documents:
      1) Any contracts
      2) Shareholder resolutions
      3) Management resolutions
      4) Official letters and notices
      5) All Gvt agencies require documents to be put on official company letterheads and
      stamped.

11    Register with the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI)                              1 day                no charge
      Agency : General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI)
      To register for social security insurance, the employer must open a file with the General
      Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). This procedure can be done online as follows:

      The employer visits GOSI’s website, completes an application and provides the
      company's Ministry of Labor number. The application must be stamped with a company
      seal. In addition, the location of the entity (business location license) and the designation
      of the authorized person to represent the company before GOSI must be included.

      The number that GOSI gives the employer is different from his/her Ministry of Labor
      number. The employer enters username and password and registers the employees with
      their IDs, wages, occupation, nationality, date of commencement and location.

      Register with the Department of Zakat                                                           3 days               no charge
12
      Agency : Zakat
      Zakat, a religious wealth tax, is assessed based on taxable income and certain assets. To
      register with DZIT, the employer will visit DZIT's website and complete an online
      application, attaching the Certificate of Registration and the details of the authorized
      person/signatory of the company. Then, the employer receives a unique ID number which
      is different from the Company ID number. The Certificate of Zakat will be issued and
      sent by mail and email within 2-3 days. This certificate is needed for the company to
      participate in tender offers and government contracts, among others.

Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                       Page 9
Doing Business 2019              Saudi Arabia

     Dealing with Construction Permits

This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all
required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with
Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information

 What the indicators measure                              Case study assumptions

Procedures to legally build a warehouse                 To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number)                                                construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.

• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining       The construction company (BuildCo):
  all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
  certificates                                          - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
                                                        largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving   largest business city.
  all necessary inspections
                                                        - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
• Obtaining utility connections for water and           legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
  sewerage                                              the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its       other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
  completion                                            topographical experts.
                                                        - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure                upon its completion.
(calendar days)
                                                        The warehouse:
• Does not include time spent gathering
  information                                           - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day—              - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
  though procedures that can be fully completed         approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
  online are an exception to this rule                  meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
                                                        929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
• Procedure is considered completed once final          warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
  document is received
                                                        - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
• No prior contact with officials                       architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
                                                        documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of
                                                        as procedures.
income per capita)
                                                        - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
• Official costs only, no bribes                        regulatory requirements).

Building quality control index (0-15)                   The water and sewerage connections:

• Quality of building regulations (0-2)                 - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
                                                        is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
• Quality control before construction (0-1)
                                                        no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
• Quality control during construction (0-3)             installed or built.
• Quality control after construction (0-3)              - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
                                                        wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)                 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
• Professional certifications (0-4)                     gallons) a day.
                                                        - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
                                                        year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
                                                        the sewerage connection.

                                                                                                                                                   Page 10
Doing Business 2019          Saudi Arabia

Dealing with Construction Permits - Saudi Arabia

       Standardized Warehouse

    Estimated value of warehouse                                                  SAR 3,959,340.30

    City Covered                                                                  Riyadh

       Indicator                                              Saudi Arabia           Middle East &         OECD high           Best Regulatory
                                                                                     North Africa          income              Performance

    Procedures (number)                                       17                    16.6                   12.7               None in 2017/18

    Time (days)                                               91.5                  137.4                  153.1              None in 2017/18

    Cost (% of warehouse value)                               2.1                   4.7                    1.5                None in 2017/18

    Building quality control index (0-15)                     12.0                  12.1                   11.5               15.0 (3 Economies)

  Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score

                                                     DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score

                    0                                                                                       100

                                                                                            86.41: United Arab Emirates (Rank: 5)

                                                                                  75.71: Saudi Arabia (Rank: 36)

                                                                               72.05: Oman (Rank: 66)

                                                                              71.77: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 68)

                                                                     60.47: Jordan (Rank: 139)

                                                                    59.17: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with
construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.

  Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                          Time (days)         Cost (% of warehouse value)

               90                                                                                                                                  1.4

               80                                                                                                                                  1.2
                                                                                                                                                         Cost (% of warehouse value)

               70
                                                                                                                                                   1
               60
 Time (days)

                                                                                                                                                   0.8
               50

               40                                                                                                                                  0.6

               30
                                                                                                                                                   0.4
               20
                                                                                                                                                   0.2
               10

               0                                                                                                                                   0
                        1   *2   *3    4      5       6      7        8       9       10      11      12         13   14     15     16    17
                                                                      Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                                       Page 11
Doing Business 2019                        Saudi Arabia

Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                                               15.0
              15                                         14.0
                               12.0                                                                                                                   12.1
                                                                                  11.0                       11.0
Index score
              10

                  5

                  0

                           Saudi Arabia            Egypt, Arab Rep.              Jordan                      Oman       United Arab Emirates Middle East & North Africa

Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

  No.                 Procedures                                                                                    Time to Complete         Associated Costs

1                     Obtain a geotechnical study / soil test                                                       7 days                  SAR 4,000
                      Agency : Private firms
                      BuildCo will request a soil test for the structural calculations for the foundation.

              2       Obtain a topographical study of the land                                                      2 days                  SAR 1,500
                      Agency : Private firms

              3       Hire independent authorized engineer                                                          1 day                   SAR 52,024
                      Agency : Private Company
                      To apply for the building permit, BuildCo must hire an independent engineer for the
                      drawings and supervise the building permit application.
                      The building standards set forth in the surveyor's report are given to the engineering firm
                      in order for the firm to begin drawing the building plans.

4                     Apply for building approval and request inspection                                            7 days                  SAR 7,804
                      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
                      BuildCo submits the application file with all the supporting documentation through the
                      online portal located on the Riyadh Municipality website
                      (http://eservices.alriyadh.gov.sa).

                      Documents include:
                      • A cover page
                      • Legal documentation from the owner of the land (in this case BuildCo), and the design
                      engineer (in this case, an employee of BuildCo)
                      • A copy of the applicant’s identity card
                      • Surveyor's report from the branch municipality
                      • Draft of the building permit, which has been prepared in advance by BuildCo and
                      contains full information including the instrument number, street name, the name of the
                      neighborhood, rebounds and components of construction and the amount of construction
                      drawings and number and the date of receipt of payment, and the general location of all
                      data set forth in the license
                      • Building plans drawn to a 50/1 scale with all the annexes
                      • Two copies of the final plans on A3 paper for Municipal record and a CD containing the
                      complete project information

                      Incomplete files will not be accepted for further processing. Once all documents are
                      submitted, the system will generate the permit fees, which can also be paid online
                      through the Sadad Payment System. After this, BuildCo's engineer must be physically
                      present to submit hard copies of all the plans and sign a sworn affidavit of responsibility
                      before picking up the temporary permit.

5                     Receive inspection from Riyadh Municipality                                                   1 day                   no charge
                      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
                      The Municipality review the deed and physically inspects the premise to ensure that it
                      matches the drawings. The customer must be physically present at the inspection.

6                     Obtain surveyor's report from Riyadh Municipality outlining the building                      3 days                  no charge
                      standards
                      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
                      After the inspection, the Municipality issues a set of building standards (in a "surveyor's
                      report") that need to be adhered to.

                      BuildCo must obtain a surveyor's report from the Municipality prior to requesting the
                      building permit. The report outlines whether the intended project can be built on the
                      particular location. It also indicates the boundaries, leveling and area of the land. This
                      report is needed for the consultant to prepare the drawings.

                                                                                                                                                                          Page 12
Doing Business 2019            Saudi Arabia

7     Apply for a civil defense approval from the Department of Civil Defense                       7 days     no charge
      Agency : Civil Defense
      Municipality will only issue a building permit after obtaining the approval document
      from the Civil Defense Department. The document should be presented in paper and in
      original. The Civil Defense needs to confirm that the design is done in compliance with
      all the safety standards. If everything is in compliance with the existing standards, the
      department of Civil Defense issues a non-objection certificate. The initial application can
      be submitted online but an in-person visit is necessary to present all the original
      documents and to pick-up the actual approval. The building firm needs to submit fire and
      safety drawings as well as hydraulic calculations.

8     Obtain building permit                                                                        12 days    no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
      BuildCo will obtain the building permit after filling out and attaching all the required
      documentation through the Municipality’s website:
      http://eservices.alriyadh.gov.sa

      However, original drawings and copies of all the documents (originals as well) need to be
      presented in person. Examples of documents include land deed, land surveys, owners’
      identity cards. During the in-person visit municipal clerks scan in all the documents for
      archiving purposes. Once all the documents are presented, the Municipality initiates the
      review process. The review process for small scale projects lasts 2-3 days. For big
      buildings, such as sky scrapers, the review process is at least one week.

9     Receive inspection during construction                                                        1 day      no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
      The customer notifies the Branch Municipality in person that construction has begun and
      the site is ready for inspection. Once the site has been inspected, the Municipality will
      proceed with random inspections. However, the Municipality will likely only inspect
      once since the supervising engineer is responsible for supervising the construction
      throughout the project.

10    Request certificate of completion from the Riyadh Municipality                                0.5 days   no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
      The customer notifies the Branch Municipality electronically that construction has been
      completed and the site is ready for inspection. Upon completion, the branch municipality
      inspects the site to ensure that all work has been performed as stated in the building
      permit.

      As of February 2017, once the certificate of completion is issued, this information is
      automatically sent to Sewage, Water, Power and Civil Defense.

11    Receive final inspection to issue certificate of completion                                   1 day      no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
      Municipality appoints an inspector and this inspector comes to check that all the set backs
      are in order. Inspectors also check the height of all floors and all the other standard
      building parameters. Everything has to be built in accordance with previously submitted
      plans. Inspectors also take multiple pictures of the constructed object for reporting and
      filing purposes.
      The final inspection report can be obtained electronically through the Municipality’s
      website.

12    Obtain certificate of completion from the Riyadh Municipality                                 7 days     no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality

13    Request letter of approval from Civil Defense                                                 1 day      no charge
      Agency : Civil Defense
      BuildCo must visit the Civil Defense agency in person to request the letter of approval.
      The Civil Defense must then visit the site to approve that the warehouse is safe for
      commercial use.

14    Receive final inspection by Civil Defense                                                     1 day      no charge
      Agency : Civil Defense

15    Obtain letter of approval from Civil Defense                                                  12 days    no charge
      Agency : Civil Defense
      If the completed building complies with all the fire safety regulations, the Civil Defense
      issues a letter of approval.

16    Obtain water and sewage connection                                                            30 days    SAR 16,250
      Agency : National Water Company

17    Obtain occupancy certificate                                                                  1 day      no charge
      Agency : Riyadh Municipality
      The occupancy certificate needs to be collected in person from the Municipality.

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                            Page 13
Doing Business 2019         Saudi Arabia

Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Saudi Arabia – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                      Answer               Score

Building quality control index (0-15)                                                                                      12.0

Quality of building regulations index (0-2)                                                                                2.0

  How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1)                             Available online;    1.0
                                                                                                      Free of charge.

  Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building            List of required     1.0
  regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1)                               documents; Fees
                                                                                                      to be paid;
                                                                                                      Required
                                                                                                      preapprovals.

Quality control before construction index (0-1)                                                                            1.0

  Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in             Licensed             1.0
  compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1)                                                architect;
                                                                                                      Licensed
                                                                                                      engineer.

Quality control during construction index (0-3)                                                                            2.0

  What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction?       Inspections by in-   1.0
  (0-2)                                                                                               house engineer;
                                                                                                      Unscheduled
                                                                                                      inspections;
                                                                                                      Inspections at
                                                                                                      various phases.

  Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1)                        Mandatory            1.0
                                                                                                      inspections are
                                                                                                      always done in
                                                                                                      practice.

Quality control after construction index (0-3)                                                                             3.0

  Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance     Yes, final           2.0
  with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2)                                                      inspection is
                                                                                                      done by
                                                                                                      government
                                                                                                      agency.

  Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1)                                      Final inspection     1.0
                                                                                                      always occurs in
                                                                                                      practice.

Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2)                                                                                0.0

  Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building      No party is held     0.0
  once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1)                           liable under the
                                                                                                      law.

  Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible          No party is          0.0
  structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance   required by law
  or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1)                                                                      to obtain
                                                                                                      insurance .

Professional certifications index (0-4)                                                                                    4.0

  What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the     Minimum number       2.0
  architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2)         of years of
                                                                                                      experience;
                                                                                                      University degree
                                                                                                      in architecture or
                                                                                                      engineering;
                                                                                                      Being a
                                                                                                      registered
                                                                                                      architect or
                                                                                                      engineer;
                                                                                                      Passing a
                                                                                                      certification
                                                                                                      exam.

                                                                                                                                   Page 14
Doing Business 2019        Saudi Arabia

 What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction   Minimum number      2.0
 on the ground? (0-2)                                                                           of years of
                                                                                                experience;
                                                                                                University degree
                                                                                                in engineering,
                                                                                                construction or
                                                                                                construction
                                                                                                management;
                                                                                                Being a
                                                                                                registered
                                                                                                architect or
                                                                                                engineer.

                                                                                                                          Page 15
Doing Business 2019              Saudi Arabia

     Getting Electricity

This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly
constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of
tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology
for more information.

 What the indicators measure                                Case study assumptions

Procedures to obtain an electricity connection             To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number)                                                   warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.

• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining          The warehouse:
  all necessary clearances and permits
                                                           - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
• Completing all required notifications and                - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
  receiving all necessary inspections
                                                           also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly       - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an
  purchasing material for these works                      area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and             - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
  obtaining final supply                                   - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters
                                                           (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters
Time required to complete each procedure                   (10,000 square feet).
(calendar days)
                                                           The electricity connection:
• Is at least 1 calendar day
                                                           - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed
• Each procedure starts on a separate day
                                                           capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1
• Does not include time spent gathering                    kilowatt (kW).
  information                                              - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little         distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more
  follow-up and no prior contact with officials            common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve
                                                           the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of             carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property
income per capita)                                         because the warehouse has access to a road.
• Official costs only, no bribes                           - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has
                                                           already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or
• Value added tax excluded                                 switchboard and the meter base.

The reliability of supply and transparency of
                                                           The monthly consumption:
tariffs index (0-8)

• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3)            - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
                                                           p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1)                     there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1)                      consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
                                                           - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance
  (0–1)                                                    supplier.
                                                           - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)              electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)          purposes only 30 days are used.

Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*

• Price based on monthly bill for commercial
  warehouse in case study

*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing
business score nor the ranking on the ease of
getting electricity.

                                                                                                                                                         Page 16
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

Getting Electricity - Saudi Arabia

  Standardized Connection

 Price of electricity (US cents per kWh)                                  7.6

 Name of utility                                                          Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)

 City Covered                                                             Riyadh

  Indicator                                              Saudi Arabia           Middle East &       OECD high           Best Regulatory
                                                                                North Africa        income              Performance

 Procedures (number)                                     5                   4.7                   4.5                 3 (25 Economies)

 Time (days)                                             68                  72.4                  77.2                18 (3 Economies)

 Cost (% of income per capita)                           31.2                479.9                 64.2                0.0 (3 Economies)

 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff        6                   4.2                   7.5                 8.0 (27 Economies)
 index (0-8)

 Figure – Getting Electricity in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score

                                                       DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score

        0                                                                                            100

                                                                                80.49: Jordan (Rank: 62)

                                                                                79.89: Saudi Arabia (Rank: 64)

                                                                                79.34: Oman (Rank: 66)

                                                                       71.41: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 96)

                                                                      69.45: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)

                                                                                                100.00: United Arab Emirates (Rank: 1)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are
the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.

                                                                                                                                                    Page 17
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

  Figure – Getting Electricity in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                            Time (days)      Cost (% of income per capita)
                                                                                                                                                 35

                   60
                                                                                                                                                 30

                                                                                                                                                      Cost (% of income per capita)
                   50
                                                                                                                                                 25
 Time (days)

                   40                                                                                                                            20

                   30                                                                                                                            15

                   20                                                                                                                            10

                   10                                                                                                                            5

                   0                                                                                                                             0
                                1                   *2                       3                        4                           5
                                                                      Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

  Figure – Getting Electricity in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                                  8
                   8
                                                                                             7
                   7
                            6                                         6
                   6
     Index score

                   5
                                                                                                                                         4.2
                   4
                                               3
                   3
                   2
                   1
                   0

                        Saudi Arabia     Egypt, Arab Rep.          Jordan                   Oman          United Arab Emirates Middle East & North Africa

                                                                                                                                                                                      Page 18
Doing Business 2019             Saudi Arabia

Details – Getting Electricity in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

No.     Procedures                                                                                      Time to Complete   Associated Costs

1       Submit application to utility and await estimate                                                14 calendar days   SAR 0
        Agency : Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)
        The online application system is now operational in Riyadh. The connection fees can also
        be paid online through the SADAD system.

        The documents required are commercial license, industrial license, and building permit.

        SEC receives subscribers' applications in principle after obtaining a building license and
        starting construction. The subscriber can file an application by phone, fax or online
        (SADAD system) where the SEC informs customer on the requirement. The locations
        specified for the stations and electric meters will be checked and confirmed by utility and
        then an estimate is delivered.

    2   Obtain external inspection by utility                                                           4 calendar days    SAR 0
        Agency : Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)
        The utility conducts a site inspection to determine the details of the connection and
        prepare an estimate of the connection fees. The inspection is generally scheduled within 1
        week. There are 5 SEC offices in Riyadh. Each office is divided into 5 zones. The
        surveyor visits each zone 1-2 times per week.

        The utility will then prepare an estimate of the connection fees. SEC sends a text to the
        customer saying the file is ready for payment. The customer goes to the bank and pays
        the fees or he can pay online via the SADAT system.

        No inspection of the entire internal wiring, however, is carried out during the process.
        Upon the completion of the inspection, the customer receives an inspection report, which
        needs to be picked up in-person.

3       Obtain external works from utility                                                              40 calendar days   SAR 24,500
        Agency : Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)
        The external works consist of laying out cables from the warehouse to the closest supply
        on the LV network. The material is all provided by the utility.

        If the building is located within grid coverage or at a distance less than 1,000 meters
        outside of coverage the client pays only the connection fees and does not pay for the
        actual works.

        Connection fees were increased, as part of a recent change in low-voltage standards from
        127/220 V to 230/400 V. As such, a new "administrative decision" ruled that connection
        fees be changed in January 2012 from fixed per range of capacities to a fee per kVA
        specified by capacity range. The decision was issued by the Saudi Arabia Electricity and
        Cogeneration Regulatory Authority based on article (9) of the electricity regulations, as
        well as Ministerial decisions 169 and 324.

4       Obtain meter installation from the utility                                                      7 calendar days    SAR 230.15
        Agency : Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)
        The client needs to submit a separate application for meter installation and final supply.

5       Obtain Electricity Release Certificate                                                          7 calendar days    SAR 0
        Agency : Municipality
        The Municipality reviews the Certificate of Completion from the Department of Civil
        Defense (obtained during the Dealing with Construction Permit indicator).

        The Municipality also requires a document from SEC proving that the wiring and
        installation follows the electricity regulations (received in the Procedure 2 from Utility as
        a result of inspection) to issue the Certificate. The municipality authorizes the release of
        electricity, and the warehouse is energized.

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                              Page 19
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

 Details – Getting Electricity in Saudi Arabia – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                                           Answer

 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8)                                                             6

 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3)                                                        2

    System average interruption duration index (SAIDI)                                                                    1.9

    System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI)                                                                   1.4

    What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI            5.0

 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1)                                                                                  1

    Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages?                                                 Yes

 Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1)                                                                                   1

    Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service?                                                 Yes

 Regulatory monitoring (0-1)                                                                                              1

    Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of     Yes
    supply?

 Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1)                                                                     1

    Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages             Yes
    exceed a certain cap?

 Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1)                                                                        0

    Are effective tariffs available online?                                                                               Yes

    Link to the website, if available online                                                                              https://www.se.com.s
                                                                                                                          a/en-
                                                                                                                          us/Customers/Pages
                                                                                                                          /TariffRates.aspx

    Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle?                                              No

Note:

If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.

If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

                                                                                                                                                    Page 20
Doing Business 2019           Saudi Arabia

     Registering Property

This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to
purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land
administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.

 What the indicators measure                               Case study assumptions

Procedures to legally transfer title on                  To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number)                              parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.

• Preregistration procedures (for example,               The parties (buyer and seller):
  checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
  paying property transfer taxes)                        - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
                                                         - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest       economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
  business city.
                                                         - Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling      - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
  title with municipality)                               - Perform general commercial activities.

Time required to complete each procedure
                                                         The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
                                                         - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
• Does not include time spent gathering                  - Is fully owned by the seller.
  information
                                                         - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
• Each procedure starts on a separate day -              10 years.
  though procedures that can be fully completed          - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
  online are an exception to this rule                   - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
• Procedure is considered completed once final           - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
  document is received                                   square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
                                                         located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
• No prior contact with officials                        heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of           requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
property value)                                          entirety.
                                                         - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees,      - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
  duties and taxes).                                     any kind.
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit         - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
  payments are excluded                                  residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
                                                         activities, are required.
Quality of land administration index (0-30)              - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)

                                                                                                                                                     Page 21
Doing Business 2019      Saudi Arabia

Registering Property - Saudi Arabia

       Indicator                                         Saudi Arabia          Middle East &        OECD high           Best Regulatory
                                                                               North Africa         income              Performance

    Procedures (number)                                 2                     5.6                  4.7                  1 (4 Economies)

    Time (days)                                         1.5                   29.7                 20.1                 1 (New Zealand)

    Cost (% of property value)                          0.0                   5.7                  4.2                  0.0 (Saudi Arabia)

    Quality of the land administration index (0-30)     10.5                  14.2                 23.0                 None in 2017/18

  Figure – Registering Property in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Ranking and Score

                                                      DB 2019 Registering Property Score

                     0                                                                                100

                                                                                         90.88: United Arab Emirates (Rank: 7)

                                                                                 81.61: Saudi Arabia (Rank: 24)

                                                                          74.03: Oman (Rank: 52)

                                                                    66.40: Jordan (Rank: 72)

                                                               62.11: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)

                                                         55.00: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 125)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.

  Figure – Registering Property in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

                                                      Time (days)        Cost (% of property value)
                                                                                                                                             1.2
               1.4

                                                                                                                                             1

                                                                                                                                                   Cost (% of property value)
               1.2

                1                                                                                                                            0.8
 Time (days)

               0.8
                                                                                                                                             0.6

               0.6
                                                                                                                                             0.4
               0.4

                                                                                                                                             0.2
               0.2

                0                                                                                                                            0
                                          1                                                                 2
                                                               Procedures (number)

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.

                                                                                                                                                                                Page 22
Doing Business 2019                     Saudi Arabia

Figure – Registering Property in Saudi Arabia and comparator economies – Measure of Quality

              30

              25                                                               22.5                                            22.0
Index score
              20

                                                                                                         13.5                                         14.2
              15
                            10.5
              10                                      9.0

              5

              0

                        Saudi Arabia            Egypt, Arab Rep.              Jordan                    Oman            United Arab Emirates Middle East & North Africa

Details – Registering Property in Saudi Arabia – Procedure, Time and Cost

  No.              Procedures                                                                                       Time to Complete         Associated Costs

1                  The buyer conducts a title search on the property                                                Less than one day,      no charge
                   Agency : First Notary Public Department                                                          online
                   The procedure is conducted by the buyer to verify that (i) the details in the deed provided
                   by the seller match those in the records of the agency; (ii) to get an official detailed
                   description of the property and (iii) check if any encumbrances are registered on the
                   property. In order to have access to the information, the buyer needs to be authorized by
                   the seller.
                   Since April 2017, it is possible to access all this information online through the website
                   of the Ministry of Justice. The buyer would obtain a printout with the assigned deed
                   number, which is validated electronically through an official digital stamp.

2                  Notary drafts the deed and parties sign before the notary                                        1 day                   no charge
                   Agency : First Notary Public Department
                   Customers first check in the front desk and are given a room number where the transfer
                   will happen. The customer proceeds to the Notary’s office (after having waited a bit in
                   the assistant’s room). Notary clerks will retrieve all the necessary documents and checks
                   them. Then the clerk will input manually all the relevant information in the electronic
                   Notary system which is linked with the Ministry of Justice’s online portal. and approves
                   the transaction and the change of name. Then the parties meet with the Notary to sign the
                   deed. Both parties or their representatives need to be present for the transfer to take place.
                   The check is handed to the Seller by the Buyer and a new deed is issued: One copy is
                   given to the buyer, with the Notary’s signature; the other one is archived with the parties’
                   signatures.

 Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

                                                                                                                                                                          Page 23
Doing Business 2019          Saudi Arabia

Details – Registering Property in Saudi Arabia – Measure of Quality

                                                                                                    Answer              Score

Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)                                                                               4.0

  What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration?                             First Notary
                                                                                                    Public
                                                                                                    Department

  In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a   Computer/Scann      1.0
  paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?                              ed

  Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions     Yes                 1.0
  and the like)?

  Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city:         Municipality of
                                                                                                    Ryadh

  In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a      Computer/Scann      1.0
  paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?                              ed

  Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing            Yes                 1.0
  cadastral information (geographic information system)?

  Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral       Separate            0.0
  or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate     databases
  databases?

  Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the             No                  0.0
  same identification number for properties?

Transparency of information index (0–6)                                                                                 2.0

  Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable          Only                0.0
  property registration in the largest business city?                                               intermediaries
                                                                                                    and interested
                                                                                                    parties

  Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made      Yes, online         0.5
  publicly available–and if so, how?

  Link for online access:                                                                           https://www.moj.g
                                                                                                    ov.sa/Documents
                                                                                                    /Regulations/pdf/
                                                                                                    70.pdf

  Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of            Yes, online         0.5
  immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if
  so, how?

  Link for online access:                                                                           https://www.moj.g
                                                                                                    ov.sa/ar/Systems
                                                                                                    AndRegulations/
                                                                                                    Pages/Regulatio
                                                                                                    ns_RealEstate.as
                                                                                                    px
                                                                                                    https://www.moj.g
                                                                                                    ov.sa/ar/eService
                                                                                                    s/Pages/RealEst
                                                                                                    ate.aspx

  Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally       No                  0.0
  binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how
  does it communicate the service standard?

  Link for online access:

  Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that             No                  0.0
  occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?

  Contact information:

  Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the       Yes                 0.5
  immovable property registration agency?

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