Saudi Arabia banks defer repayment of loans for healthcare workers

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s central bank known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) announced that all banks within the kingdom would postpone the monthly installments on any outstanding loans of healthcare workers for three months starting from April without changing the cost, reported official news channel Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The announcement came after a speech by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who thanked the healthcare workers for their efforts to safeguard the health of the country’s citizens and residents.

On Friday, March 19, the kingdom’s central bank announced a new emergency economic stimulus package of SAR70bn ($18.64bn) to help businesses offset the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Read: Saudi Central Bank declares SAR50bn package to combat coronavirus

This amount was in addition to the SAR50bn package that the bank had already announced on March 15.

The funds would be used to help businesses with measures such as exemptions and postponements of government fees and taxes, reported Reuters.

The relief measures include the postponement of value-added tax (VAT), excise tax, and income tax payments for a period of three months for businesses.

Also, expat fees which the government charges for hiring expatriates and obtaining visas for their dependents will also be canceled for three months.

Read: Saudi Arabia confirms 119 new coronavirus infections including 72 cases in Makkah

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia confirmed 119 new Covid-19 cases in the country, taking the total number of those infected to 511.

Out of the 119 new cases, 72 were detected in Makkah, 34 in Riyadh, four each in Dammam and al-Qatif, three each in al-Ahsa and Khobar, and one each in Dhahran and Qassim.