KSA’s Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs announced today the new municipality fees that will come into effect from 9 December 2016. The numbers are significantly lower than initial expectations of a maximum of a SAR300/sqm at SAR0.01-8.0/sqm. The fees vary by store type, location (highest fees paid for stores in main cities like Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Mecca and Medina) and size (the larger the store, the smaller the fee).     Other fees include commercial building permits of SAR1.2-6.0/sqm (three-year permits; SAR0.6-2.0/sqm for every one-year extension), building completion certificate of SAR400/unit and licensing fee for petrol stations within cities ranging from SAR1,000-5,000 per station. Other proposed fees including garbage collection fees and licences for petrol stations on highways, etc. have been postponed.   Based on the announced fees, the largest retailer in our coverage by space (Fawaz Al Hokair) would only pay annual fees of cSAR1mn. The news should alleviate investor concerns regarding the matter that would have added to the sector’s challenges. (Argaam, Hatem Alaa, Nada Amin)