Saudi Arabia to establish the first satellite factory with a billion riyals

The Chinese company ASpace intends to invest one billion riyals ($267 million) to establish the first specialized factory for the manufacture of advanced satellites in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom announced.

“The leading Chinese company in the space industry intends to increase the volume of its investments successively with the stages of the project, which include research and development, manufacturing components and subsystems, and the satellite industry,” The Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Hong Kong-based ASpace company was handed over its investment license on the sidelines of the “Future Investment Initiative” Forum, held in Riyadh.

The move comes as part of the kingdom’s plans to boost investment in the space sector, which comes within the framework of diversifying the country’s economy in various fields and reducing dependence on oil.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, ASpace will take advantage of the kingdom’s geographical location as a platform to enhance space capabilities in the region by investing in advanced satellites, which account for 70% of the space market.

“ASpace obtaining the first investment license in the field of satellites is the first core of investment in the kingdom in this field,” the Saudi minister of investment, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, said.