Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) approved 144 loans worth SR6.68 billion, with an increase of 6 percent over the loans of 2012, local media said quoting a senior SIDF official.
The loans were allocated for the establishment of new 120 industrial projects and expansion of 24 existing ones whose investments totaled SR14.5 billion, SIDF Chief Ali bin Abdullah Al-Ayid said.
The SIDF chief predicted that the SIDF-funded projects will create some 11,443 direct jobs to Saudi jobseekers. The volume of repaid loans during the last year stood at SR4.3 billion, the highest repayment rate in one year since the establishment of the fund, he said.
Some 55 percent of the approved loans, or 66 percent of their values, went to the least developed areas of the Kingdom, he noted. Prior to the application of the Council of Ministers’ decision in this regard, this percentage was not exceeding 14 percent, or 15 percent of their values, the SIDF chief said.
This tendency is a proof on the success of the government policy aimed to speed up the pace of development in the least developed areas and to achieve a balanced development between the different regions of the Kingdom, he added.
The SIDF used to provide financial assistance in the form of medium and long term loans to investors in industry besides offering technical, administrative, financial and marketing advice to borrowers.
SIDF grants SR6.7 billion loans for 144 industrial projects
