Barriers and threats to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia: A study of regulatory, political and economic factors
type: CreativeWork
description: The overarching purpose of this thesis is to identify and study barriers that have had the most effect on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and how these barriers have affected investors with plans of investing in Saudi Market. The barriers have been divided into three factors; political factors (the effect Arab Spring, Iran nuclear program and activities of terrorist groups have had on Saudi Arabia, regulatory factors (bureaucracy rules, government rules and social culture) and economic factors (effect of macroeconomic variables and exchange rate on FDI). After proper evaluation of literature and concepts, it became evident that the above factors have had effect on FDI, and this culminated in the design of a conceptual framework as well as some propositions for each of the factors; political factor (stability in government, internal and external conflicts, and international relations), regulatory factors (liberality, regulation, bureaucracy and impact on culture), and economic factors (growth rate, stability of currency, economic variables and market size). Needed data were obtained from interviews conducted on participants who gave their views concerning FDI sector (government officials, independent consultants and foreign investors). Furthermore, an inductive approach was used to identify the effect of changes to the current currency policy of Saudi Riyal pegged with US$ in a fixed exchange rate. Results have shown that regulations currently been put in place by the government as well as societal customs, have had adverse effect on FDI. However, political stability being enjoyed by Saudi Arabia has been pivotal in attracting foreign investment into the country. Added to this, acts of terrorism and the Iranian relationship have in no way affected FDI coming into the country. Though it became clear that any attempt by the government to acquire nuclear weapons, will have a negative effect on Saudi Arabia. The current economic standing of Saudi Arabia has attracted mor…
abstract: The overarching purpose of this thesis is to identify and study barriers that have had the most effect on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and how these barriers have affected investors with plans of investing in Saudi Market. The barriers have been divided into three factors; political factors (the effect Arab Spring, Iran nuclear program and activities of terrorist groups have had on Saudi Arabia, regulatory factors (bureaucracy rules, government rules and social culture) and economic factors (effect of macroeconomic variables and exchange rate on FDI). After proper evaluation of literature and concepts, it became evident that the above factors have had effect on FDI, and this culminated in the design of a conceptual framework as well as some propositions for each of the factors; political factor (stability in government, internal and external conflicts, and international relations), regulatory factors (liberality, regulation, bureaucracy and impact on culture), and economic factors (growth rate, stability of currency, economic variables and market size). Needed data were obtained from interviews conducted on participants who gave their views concerning FDI sector (government officials, independent consultants and foreign investors). Furthermore, an inductive approach was used to identify the effect of changes to the current currency policy of Saudi Riyal pegged with US$ in a fixed exchange rate. Results have shown that regulations currently been put in place by the government as well as societal customs, have had adverse effect on FDI. However, political stability being enjoyed by Saudi Arabia has been pivotal in attracting foreign investment into the country. Added to this, acts of terrorism and the Iranian relationship have in no way affected FDI coming into the country. Though it became clear that any attempt by the government to acquire nuclear weapons, will have a negative effect on Saudi Arabia. The current economic standing of Saudi Arabia has attracted mor…
author: Binkhamis, Mohammed
license: https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/03c2ff8a-8785-4823-9a75-190da27d2033/download
date published: 2016-10
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:18:51Z
provider: De Montfort University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: De Montfort University