Following its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Saudi Arabia has agreed to open its insurance sector to foreign investment and to allow foreign insurance firms to open and operate branches in the Kingdom.
According to Arab News, the Saudi insurance market is still underutilized and currently the sector’s contribution to the Saudi gross domestic product (GDP) is put at 0.7 percent. With the government decision on limiting foreign ownerships in the operating firms to just 60 percent and requiring them to offer the remaining 40 percent to the public, the insurance sector is set to spur the kingdom’s economic development.
