French banking group BNP Paribas has received investment registration for a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, adding France’s largest bank to a growing list of global financial institutions expanding in the Kingdom. The registration was announced after Saudi Investment Minister Fahad bin Abduljalil Al-Saif met BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre in Paris to discuss cooperation and the bank’s expansion in the country and the wider region, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The move comes as Saudi Arabia’s Regional Headquarters Program continues to draw multinational companies. The initiative supports Vision 2030’s economic diversification goals, offering incentives that include a 30-year exemption from corporate income and withholding taxes, along with discounts and support services for eligible firms that relocate their regional base to the Kingdom.
Building Riyadh into a regional financial hub is central to that plan. The Financial Sector Development Program targets 4.55 trillion riyals, about 1.21 trillion dollars, in total banking assets by 2030 and aims to raise the number of fintech companies to 525. The registration “reflects the confidence of major international companies in the Saudi economy and the attractiveness of its investment environment,” SPA said, describing it as reinforcing the country’s position as a regional hub for business and investment. The announcement did not disclose the investment value or details on staffing.
BNP Paribas already operates in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. It is the latest to join the headquarters programme, which was launched in 2021 and has since attracted more than 750 companies, exceeding its target of 500 by 2030, according to SPA.
Other global banks have moved in the same direction. Deutsche Bank received a regional headquarters licence in July, establishing its Riyadh office as a base for regional management and strategic decision-making across the Middle East, its third legal entity in the country alongside a branch dating to 2006 and a securities arm from 2007. The German lender joins JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley among the international institutions that have secured such licences in the Kingdom.
