Saudi gov't offers more funding to non-oil exporters

A plan to boost non-oil exports in Saudi Arabia has been expanded to offer more companies involved in the industry extra funding, it was reported on Sunday.

The Saudi Exports Development Centre announced that funding for the scheme, which encourages other exporting industries, had been boosted from 2 billion riyals ($ 0.5 billion) to 15 billion riyals ($3.9 billion) this year, according to Saudi daily the Saudi Gazette.

As a result more companies involved in non-oil exports were being invited to apply for the cash incentives, said Eid Abdul Rahman Al Qahtani, executive director of the centre. Part of the renewed strategy involved the centre making direct contacts with foreign importers in promising markets to promote the financing programme.

The process of importing Saudi products would be facilitated through the signing of programmed financing agreements with banks in these countries, he added.

Exporters have also been asked to provide the centre with a contact list of clients so that they can be contacted and briefed about the programme, Al Qahtani said.

The financing of exports is available with very easy conditions either as direct financing for Saudi exporters themselves or indirect financing for foreign importers of Saudi products.

The centre would be contacting factories to monitor increase in sales, Al Qahtani added.