Saudi King Extends Billions in Handouts for Another Year - Bloomberg

Saudi King Extends Billions in Handouts for Another Year - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman extended handout payments worth billions of dollars to citizens for another year to to cushion the impact of rising costs, a decision that may raise questions about the government’s commitment to trimming its wage bill.

The monarch, in a royal order carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, ordered the renewal of the cost of living allowance until a study of the kingdom’s “social protection system” is completed. The package will cost around 40 billion riyals ($10.7 billion), according to the Ministry of Finance.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman told Bloomberg in October that the government was looking into the best ways to compensate Saudis who need support for the increase in domestic energy prices and the introduction of value-added taxation. Those measures were designed to bolster non-oil revenue but have weighed on consumer demand.