French investment in Kingdom worth $19b expands into AI, digital infrastructure, culture, mining
PARIS: French investment in Saudi Arabia is expanding beyond traditional sectors such as energy and manufacturing into artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, culture and mining, according to a briefing on the investment relationship between the two countries.
A report released on Monday, as Saudi Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif chaired the French-Saudi Investment Roundtable Meeting in Paris, showed that France was Saudi Arabia’s fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment stock in 2024.
French investment reached about €16.3 billion ($19 billion) across 18 sectors and 651 investment licenses.
Manufacturing accounts for about 60 percent of French investment stock in the Kingdom, reflecting the long-standing industrial ties between the two countries. Major French companies operating in Saudi Arabia include TotalEnergies, AXA, EDF, Accor, and Thales.
