Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) unveiled a new set of financial services and products that will enable the Saudi private sector to play its role in industrial development and logistics.
SIDF launched the new financial services and products under the slogan “Empowering the Private Sector” at the presence of a number of senior officials in government agencies and industry leaders from the private sector.
During the ceremony, it was revealed that $2.6 billion had been used to boost the industrial sector out of $3.6 billion allocated for 2019.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, and SIDF Chairman Bandar al-Khorayef announced the amendment of the Fund's Articles, noting that this will enable it to expand its financing activity to include a number of promising new sectors.
In the past 20 years, the Fund approved 2,186 loans, with a total value of over $3.7 billion, while the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reached 81 percent of the total number of loans approved.
The total number of direct jobs provided by projects funded by the SIDF in the same period was more than 187,000 jobs, and the value of the contribution of projects funded by the Fund in Saudi Arabia’s industrial GDP reached $50 billion, said Khorayef.
The Minister added that the new financing products launched by the SIDF will assist the ministry in supporting the industrial and mining sectors.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, Khorayef indicated that the expansion of acquisitions to include new companies comes from new products, noting that for the first time, Saudi companies will be able to acquire companies characterized by creativity and research and development of new products to bring to the Saudi market.
The Minister said the industry and logistics development program is the largest of Vision 2030's programs.
Empowering its subsidiaries through the provision of financing instruments is consistent with the new system, which allows the Fund to be innovative without any limitations on new products.
Regarding National Industrial Development and Logistics Vision Realization Program (NIDLP), Khorayef said that the program targets $453.3 billion, adding that all programs will be constantly revised, considering the Vision has been set with certain data, especially as the economy changes.
For his part, SIDF CEO Ibrahim Saad al-Mojel announced the new package of financial services and products, which will help meet the needs and support the industrial sector.
Mojel said that the Fund has redesigned its internal procedures to reduce the processing time of existing and new loan applications to an average of 4 to 5 months, while maintaining the quality of provided studies and consultations.
