The Saudi Central Bank decided to extend the period of the Payment Deferral Program - one of the Central Bank's programs to support private sector financing - for an additional 3 months from October 1, 2021 until December 31 next.
The Saudi Central Bank's decision comes in light of the Kingdom's non-stop initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of the repercussions of the Corona pandemic on citizens and institutions operating in the country.
The Central Bank said that the extension decision came in support of micro, small and medium enterprises, which are still affected by the precautionary measures taken to confront the Corona virus pandemic, according to the assessment of funding agencies.
He clarified that the number of contracts benefiting from the payment deferral program since its launch on March 14, 2020 to date has exceeded 107 thousand contracts.
He added that the value of the deferred payments for these contracts amounted to about 174 billion riyals, equivalent to 46.4 billion US dollars.
The Saudi Central Bank said that the number of contracts benefiting from the secured financing program exceeded 6 thousand contracts, with a total financing value of more than 11 billion riyals.
These programs come in support of the private sector and the levels of liquidity in the financial system, as they contribute to enabling funding agencies to play their role in supporting and financing the private sector, and mitigating the economic and financial effects on the Micro, small and medium enterprises sector.
