Saudi Businesses Complain

Saudi Arabia’s private sector has said that economic reforms have led to increasing operating costs for companies and factories and reduced people’s purchasing power, MEM reported. According to a document signed by the heads of the ten largest chambers of commerce and industry in the country, the businessmen said industries are losing their competitive advantage due to the high cost of energy and fuel and rising foreign labor costs. The businessmen stressed that the private sector faces a range of challenges and obstacles, due to some of the government policies that led to a decline in the performance of stock market companies last year.