Zone selectable
under the value chain

01

SEZ is a special regime, not just an address

ECZA is an umbrella regulator, and each zone works through its own Relevant Entity. The four main SEZs are King Abdullah Economic City, Jazan, Ras Al-Khair and Cloud Computing. They complement economic cities, industrial cities and Riyadh Integrated Special Logistics Zone, but do not coincide with them in terms of legal basis and set of incentives.

02

Since April 2026, new regulatory frameworks have been applied

Cabinet-approved frameworks provide for unified licensing pathways, separate operational flexibilities, the possibility of special tax/customs incentives, adapted Saudisation rules, multilingual trade names and certain exceptions to the general provisions of Companies Law. For an investor, the text of the applicable zone regulation and the decision on his own package are important.

03

KAEC: production and logistics on the Red Sea

KAEC SEZ with an area of about 60 km² is located next to King Abdullah Port and is focused on the automotive supply chain, consumer goods, ICT/light electronics, pharmaceuticals, MedTech and logistics. It is suitable for a project where import of components, production, export and port form a single operational chain.

Port

King Abdullah Port and Red Sea routes

Focus

Manufacturing, mobility, medtech, consumer goods and logistics

Check

Plot, utilities, port interface, industrial approvals and export ratio

Mainland

Customs and tax regime for delivery to KSA

04

Jazan: food, metals and trade with Africa

Jazan SEZ takes advantage of the port, energy and industrial infrastructure of the southwest. Official priorities are food processing, metals conversion and logistics. The financial model must take into account raw materials, cold chain, environmental/food approvals, sea route and the actual availability of utilities.

05

Ras Al-Khair: maritime industry and mining value chain

The zone on the Persian Gulf coast develops shipbuilding, repair, offshore services, marine equipment and related chains of metals and mining. Before establishing a company, yard/land availability, heavy utilities, port access, contractor qualification, local content and industrial regulator requirements are checked.

06

Cloud Computing SEZ: virtual zone with physical infrastructure across the country

Cloud Computing SEZ is associated with KACST in Riyadh, but its model allows data centers to be built and operated in different parts of the Kingdom, subject to conditions being met. CST/cloud perimeter, PDPL and cross-border transfers, cybersecurity, data classification, electricity/network, customer contracts and permanent-establishment/tax allocation are checked.

07

Riyadh Integrated Special Logistics Zone - separate logistics mode

RISLZ near King Khalid International Airport can be suitable for high-value logistics, assembly, repair and distribution. It cannot be automatically included in the list of four ECZA SEZ: license, operator, customs treatment, permitted operations and the conditions of a specific project are checked under a separate regime.

08

Incentives are collected in a legal matrix

Corporate income tax

Reduced rate/period only for confirmed zone package and qualifying income

Withholding tax

Possible exemptions for certain cross-border payments

Customs

Deferred or exempt treatment for qualifying goods, machinery and inputs

VAT

The benefit depends on the sector/activity, movement and documentary conditions

Talent

Special flexibility for foreign personnel and expat levy

Ownership / corporate

Foreign ownership and individual Companies Law flexibilities

Clawback

Violation of activity, substance, reporting or zone conditions can deprive the stimulus

09

Mainland sales are designed before registration

A product, service or digital product supplied from a zone to the main Kingdom market may create customs, VAT, CIT/WHT, licensing, product conformity, distribution and local-content consequences. “Company in the zone” does not mean that any sale within the KSA retains the export incentive.

10

Zone investor route

1. 01
   Project brief

   Product, inputs, customers, exports, people, land and utilities.

2. 02
   Zone fit

   Target sector, available plot/capacity and regulator perimeter.

3. 03
   Term sheet

   License, lease, milestones, fees, incentives and termination.

4. 04
   Company & permits

   Investor registration, incorporation, activity and sector approvals.

5. 05
   Operational file

   Customs, VAT, tax, bank, payroll, reporting and evidence.

11

The benefit is maintained by daily facts

The company maintains separate accounting, inventory movement, customs records, employee and payroll data, contracts, board decisions, qualifying-income calculation and evidence of use of the site. Related-party services and transfer pricing should reflect the actual functions, assets and risks within the zone.

12

Quick selection matrix

Automotive / MedTech / consumer manufacturing

KAEC

Food processing / Africa routes / metals conversion

Jazan

Shipbuilding / repair / offshore / maritime supply

Ras Al-Khair

Cloud services / distributed data-center model

Cloud Computing SEZ

Air logistics / high-value distribution

Analyze RISLZ separately

Only tax savings

Insufficient basis without operational fit and substance