60,000 Saudis unable to repay their debts

February 6, 2013

60000_Saudis

Jeddah, Feb 6: About 60,000 Saudis are unable to pay off their loans, said Abdullah Marei bin Mahfouz, chairman of the Jeddah branch of the national committee for the care of prisoners and their families.

Bin Mahfouz said that currently about 300 Saudis are imprisoned in the Kingdom who are unable to settle their bank debts. In addition, about 500 prisoners are unable to pay off credit card debts, and car installments.

Between 2009 and 2011 the increased effectiveness of the payment system — which protects the rights of banks — contributed to lowering the number of people who borrowed money to buy consumer goods, he said.

“I think Saudis are becoming more cautious about getting indebted due to the strict procedures that banks are following. Still, too many Saudis make debts to fund their summer vacation or to buy a luxurious car,” he said.

He added, “The majority of Saudis who are unable to refund their debts, start looking for another source of money, like car companies. They buy two or three cars on an installment system. Then they sell these cars for cash. In most cases the borrowers are unable to refund the car installments.”

According to Bin Mahfouz, sometimes husbands make their wives borrow money for them.

“We currently have six women in prison that were unable to repay their debts. They work as teachers and their husbands forced them to take out bank loans, knowing they would be unable to refund it,” he said.

The bank system is extremely strict in collecting the debts on time.

“When the money is not repaid in due time, the bank freezes the account, stops all electronic transactions of the debtor, and then sends them notifications through the police department,” said Bin Mahfouz.

He added, “Most convicts who are in jail because they couldn’t repay, are Saudis. Expatriates are committed to settling their debts. There are a few Filipino debtors in prison. These are locked up because of credit card debts for amounts starting around SR 10,000. In contrast, Saudis debtors in jail run debts from SR 100,000 and more.”

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) recently issued a report on consumer debts. It said these reached SR 246.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Compared to the same period in the previous year, the number was up by 19 percent.

SAMA had warned banks against rescheduling unpaid debts of individuals, saying that 45 percent of the debts should be repayable within three years.

Saudi Banker Fadhel Albu Ainain told Arab News that the ratio of consumer debts is high; many people are in debt. He expected the ratio to decrease with the entrance of the mortgage law.

“In Saudi Arabia the rate of consumer debts, used to buy consumer goods, is estimated at about 75 percent. This is unhealthy for the Saudi market. A healthy market would show that most of the loans are used for acquiring stable commercial investments and real estate. Unfortunately, most of the borrowers are employees whose their salaries can’t cover these loans,” he said. “The problem in Saudi Arabia is that people who earn a low wage often tend to incur debts to live a luxurious life.”

Albu Ainain is opposed to increasing the payment period to more than five years.

“Some people are now calling for expanding the debts repayment period to more than five years. There are also calls to increase the maximum amount people can borrow. This is would increase the size of loans and weaken people’s ability to repay their debts,” he said.

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January 15,2020

Asia, Jan 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed the ignorance and arrogance of the United States and asserted that Washington looks at things from their perspective and not keeping the interests of the region in mind."The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against killing of Soleimani," Zarif said at an event.

Hitting out at US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Zarif said that they were the only ones, along with the Islamic State (ISIS) who celebrated the death of Soleimani.

"Who is celebrating Soleimani's killing? President Trump, Pompeo and Daesh (Arabic name of ISIS). You wonder about strange bedfellows?" he said.

Tensions between the US and Iran soared dramatically earlier this month after Washington launched airstrikes at Baghdad International Airport, which killed Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at two military bases of US-led coalition forces in Iraq, leading to a strife in the region.

However, Zarif regretted the shooting down of the Ukrainian airline and said it happened because of "tension".

"Nine million people were out in the streets of Iran commemorating Soleimani. You cannot bring out so many people to protest. The shooting down of a plane was a mistake. 180 families are mourning the loss of their dear ones. It happened because of tension," he said.

Asked whether there a chance of a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, Zarif ruled out negotiating with the US.

"Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under nuclear deal. We had a US deal and the US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?" he said.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Dubai, May 5: A Saudi ministerial decision issued on Monday allows companies in the private sector to reduce salaries by 40 per cent and allows termination of contracts owing to the economic hardships resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to daily newspaper Al Sharq Awsat.

The new decision was still not published by the cabinet according to the newspaper.

The decision which the newspaper saw a copy of was signed by Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to regulate the labour contract in the current period, allows employers to reduce the employees salaries by 40 percent of the actual effective wage for a period of 6 months, in proportion to the hours of work and allowing the termination of employee contract after 6 months of the COVID-19 circumstances.

The new decision has also included a provision in which the employer would be allowed to cut wages even he or she benefits from the subsidy provided by the goverment, such as those for helping pay workers wages or exemption from government fees.

The decision also stressed that employers are not allowed to terminate any employee, unless three conditions are met.

1.            First the passing of six months since the measures of salary cut has been taken

2.            Reducing pay, annual leave and exceptional leave were all used

3.            Company proves that its facing financial troubles due to the circumstances.

The memo, which goes into affect as soon as its published in the government’s official newspaper, ensures that the employee will receive his/her salary if on annual leave within the period of 6 months.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Paris, Feb 5: Saudi Arabia has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a poultry farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday, February 4.

The outbreak, which occurred in the central Sudair region, killed 22,700 birds, the OIE said, citing a report from the Saudi agriculture ministry.

The other 385,300 birds in the flock were slaughtered, it said.

The case was the first outbreak of the H5N8 virus in Saudi Arabia since July 2018.

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