The General Authority for Competition (GAC) announced the summary of its performance for 2024 regarding the number of received applications for economic concentration, which amounted to 318 applications. The authority issued 202 no-objection certificates during 2024, up 17.4% year-on-year (YoY), which is the highest historically, with Q3 and Q4 dominating the largest number, with 60 approvals each, according to a statement.
Economic concentration applications by foreign institutions dominated the lion’s share, or 56% of total applications in 2024. Joint ventures applications which involve local institutions accounted for 44.06%.
Acquisitions dominated the largest number of economic concentration applications reaching at 81% of the total, followed by joint ventures (15%), mergers (2%) and agency addition in auto sector (2%), the Authority added.
Economic concentration applications from Tadawul-listed firms represented 30.3% of the total, compared to 27.7% in 2023.
Details of Economic Concentration Applications in 2024
Type of Application
2023
2024
Change
Under study
10
10
—
No required to be reported
128
105
(18%)
Rejected
—
—
—
No-objection
172
202
+ 17%
Pending
3
—
—
Total applications
313
318
+ 2%
The manufacturing industries sector accounted for 33% of total applications. It was followed by information and telecommunications with 19%, then wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 11%.
Economic Concentration Applications by Sector
Sector
Percentage
Manufacturing
33%
Information and communications
19%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
11%
Transportation storage
5%
Other sectors
32%
The General Authority for Competition (GAC) announced the summary of its performance for 2024 regarding the number of received applications for economic concentration, which amounted to 318 applications. The authority issued 202 no-objection certificates during 2024, up 17.4% year-on-year (YoY), which is the highest historically, with Q3 and Q4 dominating the largest number, with 60 approvals each, according to a statement.
Economic concentration applications by foreign institutions dominated the lion’s share, or 56% of total applications in 2024. Joint ventures applications which involve local institutions accounted for 44.06%.
Acquisitions dominated the largest number of economic concentration applications reaching at 81% of the total, followed by joint ventures (15%), mergers (2%) and agency addition in auto sector (2%), the Authority added.
Economic concentration applications from Tadawul-listed firms represented 30.3% of the total, compared to 27.7% in 2023.
Details of Economic Concentration Applications in 2024
Type of Application
2023
2024
Change
Under study
10
10
—
No required to be reported
128
105
(18%)
Rejected
—
—
—
No-objection
172
202
+ 17%
Pending
3
—
—
Total applications
313
318
+ 2%
The manufacturing industries sector accounted for 33% of total applications. It was followed by information and telecommunications with 19%, then wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 11%.
Economic Concentration Applications by Sector
Sector
Percentage
Manufacturing
33%
Information and communications
19%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
11%
Transportation storage
5%
Other sectors
32%
