Riyadh, Sep. 29, 2021, SPA -- The Saudi Central Bank announces the extension of the Deferred Payment Program - one of SAMA's Private Sector Financing Support Programs - for three additional months from October 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that continue to be affected by the COVID-19 precautionary measures. Based on the assessment of the financing entities. It is worth noting that, since its launch on March 14, 2020 to date, the Deferred Payment Program has benefited more than 107 thousand contracts with a total value of SAR 174 billion in deferred payments. Meanwhile, the number of contracts benefiting from the Guaranteed Financing Program has exceeded 6 thousand contracts, with total financing value of more than SAR 11 billion. The purpose of these programs has been to support the private sector as well as financial system liquidity, which should help in easing the economic impact of the COVID-19 precautionary measures on the MSMEs sector. --SPA 18:32 LOCAL TIME 15:32 GMT 0026 www.spa.gov.sa/w1628372