Minimum capital for a foreign-owned company

Where the "no minimum capital" line comes from

It is not wrong, it is just answering a different question. A Saudi setup consultancy's cost page states there is no minimum capital in most activities, and for a Saudi founder opening a services company that matches reality. The company law stopped requiring a fixed capital figure for an LLC. What did not change is the ministry's own activity-by-activity table for foreign investment, which is a separate gate.

So both statements can sit side by side on the internet and both be sourced. The one that governs your budget depends on who owns the company and what it sells.

Trading is a deliberate gate

Read the two figures together and the policy is legible. Bring in a Saudi partner at a quarter of the company and the capital requirement drops by SAR 3.3 million. Keep full ownership and you pay for it in capital, plus a track record test: the guide also requires at least 3 markets.

For a mid-sized European distributor, this is usually the moment the plan changes shape. A Saudi trading arm at that capital level is a different proposition from a services entity, and some end up registering a services company and appointing a local distributor instead.

Ownership floors for other activities

Where capital is unrestricted, ownership sometimes is not. Communications activities require 40%, supportive communications 30%, and professional activities with a Saudi partner 25%, with the further condition that a non-professional partner's share must not exceed 30%.

Full foreign ownership with conditions attached

Two entries are worth knowing because they show the shape of the rules. An engineering consultancy can be wholly foreign owned, but must have 4 countries and 10 years' experience. A wholly foreign legal activity needs a Ministry of Justice approval letter. Neither sets a capital figure. Both replace capital with evidence.

Before you commit to a number

Capital requirements attach to the activity code you register, not to the business you describe in a meeting. Two activities that sound alike in English can sit on different lines of that table. Confirm the exact ISIC activity in writing with the ministry or your consultant before you capitalise anything, and remember that registration runs on available or restricted activities.