Saudi Arabia fund provided firms with $4.5 billion in loans last year

The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) gave 212 loans worth $4.5 billion to companies last year, most of them small businesses, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The loans went to 201 companies in areas including industry, mining, energy, and logistics, with 84% of the financing provided to small and medium enterprises.

The government fund aims to promote industry in the kingdom as it seeks to transform its oil-dependent economy.