This is probably the BIGGEST piece of news that has come since it was last discussed over a year ago. Back in the day, a Foreign Investor was not able to buy a property (land/home) in Makkahor Madinah. He was able though, to buy a property for himself in any other city, so many Investors would either buy the property in the name of a Saudi to bypass the laws against such purchases, or would just end up buying properties outside the Two Holy Cities.
As for the new law, there have been many updates to the law. Besides allowing the Foreign Investor to buy a personal property in Makkah and Madinah, he is also allowed to enter certain activities that were previously prohibited.
A simple list of some of those newly permitted activities for Foreign Investors:
- Wholesale sales
- Import & Export
- Mining (Diamonds, Minerals...)
- Manufacture (I'll expand on this later, insha Allah...)
In general, this is a HUGE BLESSING for foreign Investors, as you will see from the previous post on Answering Some Foreign Investment Questions, this is something our brother Abu Aasiyah was asking about...
If you're thinking about Investing outside America in general or specifically looking to move to a Muslim Country, I would say that this is a big break for you, try taking the steps to Invest in Saudi Arabia as soon as possible.
Just FYI brother I think that it is incorrect to say the restrictions on investment in property in Mecca and Medinah have changed, see: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6§ion=0&article=94210&d=26&m=3&y=2007