DUBAI (Reuters), Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday that it has granted 44 companies permission to establish regional headquarters in Riyadh. This is part of the kingdom’s efforts to be a regional hub for commerce and compete for talent and foreign capital.

According to a press release, 44 multinational companies were included in the list. They are located across a range of industries including consulting, technology, food, and beverage, as well as construction, including Deloitte and Unilever (NYSE:), Baker Hughes, and Siemens.

There were no details about which companies would relocate what operations, nor was it immediately apparent if they would.

These moves will add 67 trillion riyals ($18billion) to the economy, and offer around 30,000 employment opportunities by 2030 according to the state news agency SPA.

According to February’s Arab largest economy and world’s biggest oil exporter, it said in February that foreign companies would be allowed to open offices until 2023. If they do not set up headquarters by then, it could risk losing government contracts.

Rasheed claimed that Saudi Arabia’s move to draw companies in was not meant to end corporate operations.

The Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is pushing for the push to establish the kingdom as a regional economic hub. This puts it in direct competition with the United Arab Emirates.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ :), Schlumberger, (NYSE 🙂 and Bechtel all agreed to establish regional offices in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, rather than remotely overseeing operations from Dubai’s Business Hub.

According to sources, Saudi media houses in Dubai also began to relocate staff to Riyadh last month.