Saudi banks sign supply chain financing deal with government

Saudi banks sign supply chain financing deal with government

Loans will be available to suppliers to the government that have had invoices approved, but are still awaiting payment

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance and three of the kingdom's largest banks have started a supply chain financing facility that will enable contractors to secure money owed to them faster.

The Finance Ministry has partnered with Saudi British Bank, Samba Financial Group and National Commercial Bank, according to a statement. The loans will be available to suppliers to the government that have had invoices approved, but are still awaiting payment.

The move is the latest sign of the government trying to better support suppliers, many of which complained about difficulties getting invoices approved by the government following the oil price slump in 2015.

According to statistics from Twitter, 76% of Saudi bank customers used official