Saudi entry push gets advisory lift

Grant Thornton Saudi Arabia and AstroLabs have struck a strategic collaboration aimed at helping overseas companies enter and expand in Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom continues to position itself as a regional base for multinational business despite a tougher short-term operating climate. The two firms said the arrangement is designed to give foreign and upper-mid-market companies a more integrated route from market entry to long-term operations.

At the centre of the agreement is what the partners call a “Setup-to-Scale” model, combining AstroLabs’ work in entity formation, compliance and operational support with Grant Thornton Saudi Arabia’s tax, audit, advisory and local-content services. The stated aim is to reduce the friction that many international firms face after incorporation, when regulatory, staffing, accounting and execution issues begin to shape whether a new operation can move beyond launch and become commercially viable.

Imad Adileh, principal at Grant Thornton, said international companies needed support “from day one through to long-term scale”, while AstroLabs chief executive Roland Daher said more mature foreign businesses were entering Saudi Arabia with a clearer long-term commitment and needed stronger foundations across compliance, operations and advisory work. Their comments point to a change in the Saudi expansion story, where the challenge is no longer simply obtaining a licence but building an operating model that can withstand close regulatory scrutiny and the demands of a competitive market.

That shift matters because Saudi Arabia has spent the past several years trying to draw more global capital and executive attention under its Vision 2030 diversification programme. Official Vision 2030 material sets out a goal of raising foreign direct investment as a share of gross domestic product, while the Regional Headquarters programme has been used to push Riyadh as the preferred base for multinational groups serving the wider Middle East and North Africa. The programme, overseen by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment, is intended to attract foreign investment, deepen knowledge transfer and strengthen the local labour market.

The policy backdrop remains active. Saudi Arabia appointed Fahd bin Abduljalil bin Ali al Saif as investment minister in February, replacing Khalid Al-Falih, in a move that Reuters said reflected a renewed focus on increasing capital inflows and directing attention towards higher-impact sectors. Reuters also reported that the kingdom is targeting $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment by 2030, underlining why service providers that can simplify market entry are likely to find growing demand.

Official statistics show the scale of that effort, though they also show that the picture is mixed. The General Authority for Statistics said net FDI inflows reached SAR22.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025, with inward flows of about SAR24 billion, up 24 per cent year on year. That suggests interest in the market remained firm, even if quarterly movements were uneven. For advisers and expansion platforms, those numbers reinforce the commercial logic of building services around international entrants that need help navigating licensing, tax, governance and staffing requirements.

AstroLabs, which has built a business around helping firms expand into Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has already been involved in a series of company launches in the kingdom this year. One example is Australian safety technology company Smartlox, which announced its Saudi expansion with AstroLabs’ support on April 1. That pattern suggests AstroLabs is seeking to widen its role from setup facilitator to longer-term operating partner, and the Grant Thornton tie-up adds deeper advisory weight to that proposition.

Yet the timing of the collaboration is notable because Saudi Arabia’s business environment is not without strain. Reuters reported on April 5 that the kingdom’s non-oil private sector contracted in March for the first time since August 2020, with the Riyad Bank PMI falling to 48.8 from 56.1 in February as regional conflict disrupted supply chains and hit export orders. Even so, the same survey found firms remained positive about the coming year, supported by expectations around government spending, infrastructure work and longer-term demand.