Saudi Arabia | ADB COVID-19 Policy Database

Other Economies

Data updated as of 31 May 2021

Sum of Measures 1—5 (Total Package)

Total Package in USD Million: 104,969.33

% of GDP (2020): 14.96%

% of Regional Total Package: N/A

Package Per Capita in USD: 3,063.14

Note: Measures 9 and 10 are added to the sum of Measures 1-5.

Measure	Amount (Local)	Amount (USD)	Details
01 - Liquidity Support	SAR3,700,000,000	USD986,666,667
01A - Short-term lending	SAR3,700,000,000	USD986,666,667	(i) No amount/estimate: Extending working capital finance to corporates in affected sectors to address short term liquidity requirements; (ii) 16 June 2020, SAR3.7 billion from The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) to support private sector industrial enterprises. The scheme will support small and medium enterprises within the industrial sector by deferring or restructuring their loans and by offering a line of credit to finance up to three months of operating expenses.
01B - Support policies for short-term lending	SAR0	USD0
01C - Forex operations	SAR0	USD0
02 - Credit creation	SAR69,200,000,000	USD18,453,333,333
02A - Financial sector lending/funding	SAR63,200,000,000	USD16,853,333,333	(i) SAR13.2 billion in loans to SMEs provided through banks; (ii) 1 June 2020, SAR50 billion injection by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency to enhance liquidity in the banking sector and enable it to continue its role in providing credit facilities to all its clients from the private sector, including the role of banks in supporting and financing the sector.
02B - Support policies for long-term lending	SAR0	USD0
02B1 - Interest rate adjustments	SAR0	USD0	No amount/estimate: 16 March 2020, Reduction of the repo rate by 75bps from 1.75% to 1% and the reverse repo rate by 75bps from 1.25% to 0.5%.
02B2 - Other policies to support long-term lending	SAR0	USD0
02C - Loan guarantees	SAR6,000,000,000	USD1,600,000,000	SAR6 billion loan guarantee program.
03 - Direct long-term lending	SAR30,670,000,000	USD8,178,666,667
03A - Long-term lending	SAR0	USD0	No amount/estimate: 17 January 2021, Program providing long term loans to companies that are listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange for the purpose of enhancing the ceiling of financing limits for listed companies for projects of the targeted sectors of the Projects Support Fund initiative, specifically health, education, and real estate development.
03B - Forbearance	SAR30,670,000,000	USD8,178,666,667	(i) 29 March 2020, Encouraging banks to restructure loans without any charges; (ii) SAR30 billion for banks and financing companies to delay the payment of the dues of the financial sector (banks and finance companies) from SMEs for a period of six months as of its date; (iii) No amount/estimate: 14 May 2020, Banks have been instructed to delay payments of loans extended to all Saudi employees by three months without extra fees, to provide financing needed by customers who lose their jobs and to exempt customers from various banking fees; (iv) 15 July 2020, SAR670 million to help businesses defer loan installments due this year amid economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 1, this program was extended until December 14; (v) No amount/estimate: 19 December 2020, More comprehensive regulations on third party debt collection activities. Those who breach the rules are to get a warning or a suspension from collection activities for up to three years.
04 - Equity support	SAR162,900,000,000	USD43,440,000,000	16 November 2020, SAR162.9 billion in government liabilities of the state-owned Saudi Electric Company were converted into a "subordinate perpetual financial instrument", essentially equity.
05 - Health and income support	SAR57,165,000,000	USD15,244,000,000
05A - Health support	SAR47,265,000,000	USD12,604,000,000	(i) Total of SAR47 billion in resource support to the health sector; (ii) April 26, The government signed a SAR265 million contract to import 9 million tests needed for COVID-19 diagnosis; (ii) No amount/estimate: 19 January 2021, KSA will continue to pay the overtime allowance for the occupants of health jobs not covered by the health jobs list in hospitals, health centers and laboratories; (iii) No amount/estimate: 3 March 2021, The Ministry of Health, in partnership with Al-Dawaa Pharmacies, will provide free COVID-19 vaccines at all its branches. Additionally, now that all registered prority groups have received their vaccines, the Ministry of Health will now expand the vaccination program to the general population.
05B - Income support	SAR9,900,000,000	USD2,640,000,000
05B1 - Tax and contribution deferrals and policy changes	SAR0	USD0	(i) No amount/estimate: Payment deferral for VAT, excise tax, income tax, government service fees and municipal fees.
05B2 - Tax and contribution rates reduction	SAR0	USD0	No amount/estimate: 21 January 2021, the extension of the initiative to cancel fines and exemption from financial penalties for taxpayers for an additional period of six months ending on 30 June. The percentage exemption (ranging from 50-100%) is dependent on when the taxpayer pays the principal tax debt related to the declaration from which the fine or fines arose.
05B3 - Subsidies to individuals and households	SAR0	USD0	(i) No amount/estimate: Expat fees cancelled for three months; (ii) No amount/estimate: 14 May 2020, 30% discount on electricity bills while offering the possibility of payment deferral; (iii) No amount/estimate: 29 October 2020, Cabinet approved allocating SAR500,000 for the families of health practitioners who lost their life due to COVID-19 in government or private sectors, whether civil or military and Saudi or not Saudi; (iv) No amount/estimate: 24 December 2020, Directive to localize accounting professions in the private sector that employ 5 workers or more of accountancy professions at a rate of 30%. Minimum salaries for these workers are to be SAR6,000 for bachelor's holders and SAR4,500 for diploma holders; (v) No amount/estimate: 24 January 2021, The Human Resources Development Fund has announced its contribution to bear the costs of recruiting and training job seekers in accounting professions. The fund has approved the costs of 5,000 training opportunities in a number of professional accounting specialties, and it also bears a percentage of the employee's monthly wage ranging between 30% and 50% for a period of two years.
05B4 - Subsidies to businesses	SAR9,900,000,000	USD2,640,000,000	(i) 3 April 2020, SAR9 billion to to cover 60% of the salaries of Saudi staff in companies under stress for the next three months. As of 29 September, this initiative has been extended until January 2021; (ii) SAR0.9 billion in temporary electricity subsidies to commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors.
05B5 - Indirect income support	SAR0	USD0
05B6 - No breakdown (income support)	SAR0	USD0
05C - No breakdown (health and income support)	SAR0	USD0
06 - Budget reallocation	SAR50,000,000,000	USD13,333,333,333	SAR50 billion worth of government spending to be reallocated from non-priority areas of the 2020 budget.
07 - Central bank financing government	SAR0	USD0
07A - Direct lending and reserve drawdown	SAR0	USD0
07B - Secondary purchase: government securities	SAR0	USD0
08 - International Assistance Received	SAR0	USD0
08A - Swaps	SAR0	USD0
08B - International loans/grants	SAR0	USD0
08B1 - Asian Development Bank	SAR0	USD0
08B2 - Other	SAR0	USD0
09 - International Assistance Provided	SAR0	USD0
09A - Swaps	SAR0	USD0
09B - International loans/grants	SAR0	USD0
10 - No breakdown	SAR70,000,000,000	USD18,666,666,667	(i) March 20, SAR70 billion private sector support package, including the suspension of government tax payments, fees, and other dues to provide liquidity to the private sector and an increase in available financing through the National Development Fund.
11 - Other Economic Measures	SAR0	USD0	(i) No amount/estimate: 25 April 2020, Increase of the monthly ceiling limit for e-wallets up to SAR20,000, with the goal of boosting digital payment transactions; 11 May 2020: (ii) Decided to stop the cost of living allowance starting from June 2020; (iii) No amount/estimate: Exemptions from various fees for electronic transactions, balances below the minimum, and refinancing operations and termination of existing agreements; (iv) Raised the value-added tax rate from 5% to 15% starting 1 July 2020; (v) 13 May 2020, Announced the extension of the program of support for fees of sales points and e-commerce for all stores and private sector establishments for an additional three months ending on 14 September 2020; (vi) No amount/estimate: 1 July 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture announced it will offer 94 agricultural investment opportunities to the private sector in the near term; (vii) 27 October 2020, Increased the percentage of employees in the activity of "maintenance and operation contracting" that must be Saudi by 3% under the "Nitaqat" program; (viii) 19 November 2020, The Ministry of Finance has launched additional electronic payment channels that allow customers to use bank cards to pay for government services.
12 - Non-Economic Measures	SAR0	USD0
12A - Measures affecting travel and transport (local and international)	SAR0	USD0	(ii) Restrictions on international and domestic travel; (ii) The Ministry of Hajj called on countries to delay their bookings for the 2020 Hajj season. On 22 June 2020, the Saudi authorities announced that only a “very limited” number of people who are living in the kingdom are allowed to take part in the 2020 Hajj pilgrimage in July; (iii) 23 July 2020, the authorities announced the opening of land borders with Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE so that Saudi citizens could enter without a prior authorization; (iv) 21 December 2020, Saudi Arabia has announced a two-week suspension of international flights aimed at containing the spread of the new COVID-19 strain. As of 3 January 2021, this measure has been lifted; (v) 3 February 2021, Suspension of incoming air travel from 20 countries identified as COVID-19 hotspots. As of 12 March, authorities announced that the suspended international flights will be allowed to resume on 17 May.
12B - Measures affecting business and workplace	SAR0	USD0	(i) Suspending employee attendance at government and private workplaces.
12C - Others	SAR0	USD0	(i) Closing mosques, schools, universities, and shopping malls; (ii) Implementing a national mass-testing program; (iii) 6 April 2020, Nighttime curfew in various cities including Mecca and Medina. On 26 April 2020, Partial lifting of the curfew in all regions, except in Mecca and previously isolated neighborhoods. As of 28 May 2020, the curfew will be eased to be from 3pm to 6am and will be entirely lifted on 26 June except for Mecca where it will be over 3pm-6am only from 21 June. The all clear phase will start on 21 June 2020, when all curfew restrictions will be completely lifted and the situation will be allowed to return to normal throughout the country (as it was before the curfew procedures), except in the city of Makkah. As of 6 June 2020, The curfew in Jeddah is reinstated for 15 days; (iv) 22 April 2020, Launch of a repatriation program for expatriates; (v) 5 July 2020, a Royal decree extended the validity of visit visas and expired residency, and exit and entry visas for expats for an additional period of 3 months; (vi) 4 November 2020, the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development approved reforms easing labor restrictions on foreign workers, specifically allowing foreign workers the right to (a) change jobs by transferring their sponsorship from one employer to another; (b) leave and re-enter the country; and (c) secure final exit visas without the consent of their employer. These reforms will take effect on March 2021; (vii) 4 February 2021, Restrictions on gatherings (max. 20 attendees), closing of cinemas, entertainment centers, and restaurants, among other types of establishments. As of 14 February 2021, this measure has been extended for another 20 days; (viii) 18 February 2021, The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has approved the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine; (ix) 7 March 2021, Entertainment activities reopened after a 1-month hiatus, but still subject to strict health protocols.