BNP Paribas receives Saudi regional headquarters licence

DUBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas has received a regional headquarters licence in Saudi Arabia, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday, as France's biggest bank joins other international companies expanding their presence in the kingdom. 

Saudi Arabia has pushed multinational ​companies to relocate their regional headquarters to Riyadh in recent years as part of efforts to position the capital as a leading financial hub in the Gulf along with Dubai and Abu Dhabi in neighbouring United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

The ​government has said companies without a Riyadh headquarters risk losing ​access to state contracts.

The licence was announced during a Paris meeting between Saudi Arabia's investment minister, Fahd bin Abduljalil al Saif, and BNP Chairman Jean Lemierre, SPA added.

BNP's presence in the Middle East includes offices in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. 

(Reporting by Federico MaccioniEditing by David Goodman)