The Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MLSD) deposited the second installment of SR 2.1 billion into the Kingdom’s household allowance program, informed Citizen’s Account program director Ali Rajhi. Known as the Citizens Account, the initiative is designed to provide financial assistance to low- and middle-income Saudi families and to support them from the direct […]

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The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) announced that women over 25 years of age will be granted tourist visa to travel to Saudi Arabia provided that she is part of a tourist group. However, it is mandatory for women under 25 to be accompanied by a family member. Tourism agencies arranging visits […]

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The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) announced that all lease-to-own and rent-to-own (Ijara) contracts of assets like real estate or cars concluded before January 1, 2018 will not be liable to pay Value Added Tax (VAT). GAZT clarified that such contracts are viewed as non-continuous supplies and therefore VAT will not be collected […]

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The General Authority of Statistics (GaStat) Q3 labor report indicated a drop of 5.8 percent in the Kingdom’s overall unemployment rate among Saudis during the third quarter of 2017 in comparison to the second quarter. Although there has been an increase in the number of new jobseekers in the Saudi market, the Kingdom’s unemployment rate […]

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Saudi Arabia announced plans to grant tourist visas for visitors from 65 nations under the Saudi Arabia Muslims’ Destination initiative. The initiative, launched by Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) is another vision of Kingdom’s National Transformation Program 2020. Being the cradle of Islam and a major destination for Muslims, Saudi Arabia, through […]

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Saudi Arabia raised fuel prices with effect from January 1, 2018. The initiative is part of a program that aims at gradually eliminating energy subsidies as the Kingdom seeks to overhaul its economy and balance the budget. The price of Octane 91 increased from 0.75 riyals to 1.37 riyals per liter while that of Octane […]

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Global tech giants Apple Inc. and Amazon.com are engaged in licensing discussions with Saudi Arabia as part of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s move to give the Kingdom a high-tech look. SAGIA, Saudi Arabia’s foreign investment authority, is expected to complete licensing agreement with Apple in February and Apple targets to open its first retail […]

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The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) has signed a strategic deal of SR1 billion with Bidiya Home Finance to purchase a portfolio and provide mortgage refinancing facility. This is the second strategic deal signed by SRC in two weeks. Earlier, SRC entered into another refinancing partnership of SR1 billion with prominent real estate financing […]

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The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) announced that tourists and Hajj and Umrah pilgrims from non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will be provided with a refund of Value Added Tax (VAT) amount they paid on purchases made in the Kingdom. However, GAZT is still working on the mechanism to reimburse VAT to tourists […]

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