PepsiCo to invest more than $1.6 billion in Saudi Arabia over next five years

PepsiCo and its local partners will invest over six billion riyals ($1.6 billion) into Saudi Arabia over the next five years, following a meeting between the company’s chairman and the governor of the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

The investments will be logistically oriented and focus on entrepreneurships and social development, a SAGIA spokesperson told Al Arabiya English. PepsiCo and its local partners have already invested 11.4 billion riyals in the Kingdom over the past seven years.

“Saudi Arabia has been a strategically important market for PepsiCo for more than 60 years. Today, we proudly employ 8,000 people in the Kingdom, with a Saudization rate of over 40 percent in certain business units,” said Ramon Laguarta, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo.

The PepsiCo Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, will also invest nearly 16 million riyals in social impact programs focusing on women and youth empowerment. The fund will focus on sustainability projects including water conservation and plastic waste management.

“Saudi Arabia continues to present attractive opportunities for international investors as it undergoes an unprecedented economic transformation … PepsiCo represents a prime example of a close and reciprocal partnership founded on values of innovation, diversification and sustainable growth,” said Ibrahim al-Omar, governor of SAGIA