Saudi Arabia gives $319 mln to 400,000 private sector employees hurt by coronavirus

Saudi Arabia’s General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) disbursed approximately 1.2 billion Saudi Riyals ($319 million) to more than 400,000 Saudi nationals working in private sector companies which were affected by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The financial assistance was provided to the beneficiaries who submitted applications during the specified period announced earlier,” said Sulaiman Al-Gwaiz, the GOSI governor.

Those who submitted their applications after the end of the specified period and during April, will be paid the compensation for May on June 1, 2020.

“The (financial) assistance covered more than 80,000 firms and more than 400,000 Saudis have benefited from it. They represent over 23 percent of the total number of Saudi nationals in the private sector who are registered with GOSI,” Al-Gwaiz said.

He added that government statistics reflected the strength and resilience of the Saudi economy during the coronavirus pandemic, as most private sector organizations did not request assistance because of their financial ability to survive the crisis.

Financial and economic measures in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has taken a number of fiscal and economic measures to lessen the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on both individuals and businesses.

More than 120 billion riyals, which is equivalent to about 4 percent of Saudi gross domestic product, has been allocated to implement those measures.

Nine billion riyals has been allocated to protect the Saudis working in the private sector from losing their jobs and providing alternative income for those who lose income from their jobs.

The Saudi government allocated 50 billion riyals to expedite the payment of the dues of the private sector.

The Kingdom also announced the deduction of 30 percent of electricity bills for the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors, with a budget of 900 million riyals.

Al Arabiya English