Saudi banks' financing for SMEs has tripled

Saudi banks' financing for SMEs has tripled
September 13, 2019, 10:49 am

The volume of bank financing for small and medium enterprises tripled to 6.2 percent to reach 133 billion riyals ($ 35.4 billion), compared with the private sector financing of 1.4 trillion riyals ($ 373.3 billion).

"The growth of bank financing for SMEs rose from 2 percent two years ago to more than 6.2 percent. Financing exceeded 133 billion riyals," said Talaat Hafez.

Hafez pointed out that Saudi banks have other financing channels, known as the SME Guarantee Program, pointing out that the ratio of total debt of Saudi banks portfolio to private sector institutions amounted to about 1.9%.

He stressed that this rate was very low compared to the volume of huge financing exceeding 1.4 trillion riyals ($ 373.3 billion), and was among the lowest ratios of debt, compared to the banking sectors in the world.

He stressed that banks have paid full attention to contributing to the strong development of this sector, based on its importance and in line with the goal of Saudi Vision to increase the contribution to GDP by 35 percent in 2030.

Meanwhile, the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented by the Investment and Securities Commission, organized a lecture on Thursday on banking services for SMEs, in cooperation with the Saudi Banks Committee for Awareness and Banking Information.

Mallawi Al-Subaiei, Commercial Banking Manager at Riyad Bank, said that Saudi banks offer SMEs additional incentives at low interest rates for projects that comply with Vision 2030, as well as specific incentives for projects in less developed regions.

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