By: Aseel bin Taleb
Riyadh – Mubasher: The Kafala programme approved around 17,400 guarantee contracts worth SAR 8.4 billion for 8,500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) since its establishment in 2006 till the third quarter of 2016, the programme’s director Osama bin Abdurrahman Al Mubarak said.
The Saudi banking system is characterized by its financial strength, he told journalists on the sidelines of a press conference in Riyadh.
The SMEs represent around 90% of the total number of institutions operating in the Kingdom, contributing 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to studies.
The Saudi banks provided different types of financing to many SMEs, with guarantees of up to 80% of the offered loans, according to Talat Zaki Hafiz, secretary-general of the media and banking awareness committee of the Saudi banks.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
