Saudi Arabia Allocates Over $57 Billion to Confront COVID-19 Impact

Saudi Arabia Allocates Over $57 Billion to Confront COVID-19 Impact

Published July 9th, 2020 - 12:00 GMT









Saudi Arabia spent more than SR214 billion ($57 billion) on 142 initiatives to tackle the impact of the coronavirus in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

 

Initial measures undertaken by the government to provide a buffer were followed up by a royal decree this month to extend the support to the public and private sectors and to investors.

They included the suspension of some labor-related fines, wage protection measures and the postponement of the collection of customs duties on imports.

More than 650,000 people directly benefited from the package of measures aimed at individuals, according to the Ministry of Finance's Communications and Financial Knowledge Center.

Businesses also received help in the form of extra time to file tax and zakat returns, while families on low incomes were given support in sectors that were hard hit such as ride-hailing transport services. About SR9 billion was allocated to more than 1.2 million citizens working for businesses affected by the pandemic.

In its Policy Responses to COVID-19 Tracker, the International Monetary Fund notes that Saudi Arabia has been hit by two shocks “” "the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp decline in oil prices. Government policy is