The Saudi Fund for Development – as a public institution – enjoys legal personality and independent financial liability, and is organizationally linked to the National Development Fund. Its headquarters is located in Riyadh, and it has the authority to establish branches within the Kingdom or abroad as needed. It is responsible for contributing to the financing of development projects in developing countries by providing loans to those countries, offering grants for technical assistance to fund studies and institutional support, and supporting non-oil national exports by financing and guaranteeing those exports.

The capital of the fund is set at twenty-five billion riyals, half of which will be covered over the next three years in accordance with budget considerations, and the remainder will be covered thereafter according to what is determined by the state’s general budget each year.
The capital of the fund may be increased by a decision of the Council of Ministers.

• 1- The fund is managed by a Board of Directors whose chairman is appointed by order of the President of the Council of Ministers, and includes the membership of each of the following:

  • A- A representative from the Ministry of Finance.

  • B- The Chief Executive Officer.

  • C- Seven other members with expertise and specialization, whose membership term is three years, renewable once.

  • D- A representative from the National Development Fund.

• 2- The members referred to in paragraph (A/D) of this article are appointed by order of the President of the Council of Ministers, based on a proposal from the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Development Fund.

• 3- The Board of Directors meets upon the invitation of its chairman or deputy whenever there is a need for a meeting, and its meeting is valid with the presence of the majority of its members.

• 4- Without prejudice to any specific provision, the council's decisions are effective with the approval of the absolute majority of those present, and in the event of a tie, the side with which the chairman of the meeting voted prevails.

• The Fund's Board of Directors is the authority overseeing its affairs and managing its matters, and for this purpose it has the following powers:
  1) Approving the rules and conditions for granting and recovering loans in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

• 1 bis) Approving the rules and conditions for providing technical assistance grants to finance studies and institutional support, provided that the total annual amount does not exceed two percent (2%) of the Fund's net income.
  2) Approving the granting of loans to projects it deems worthy of financing.

• 2 bis) Approving the rules and conditions for financing and guaranteeing exports in a manner that achieves the objectives of developing national exports and preserves the Fund's rights.
  3) Approving the investment of the Fund's non-independent funds in various investment forms.
  4) Approving the administrative and financial regulations governing the Fund and other necessary internal and technical regulations and procedures to manage the Fund's affairs, provided that the approval of financial regulations and provisions with financial impact in the administrative regulations is made in agreement with the Ministry of Finance.

• 5) Approving the Fund's budget.
  6) Approving the final account and the annual report on the Fund's activities, in preparation for submitting them according to the statutory procedures.

• 7) Approving strategies related to the Fund's activities, and the plans and programs necessary for their implementation, and submitting matters requiring completion of procedures.

• 8) Supervising the implementation of the tasks assigned to the Fund.

• 9) Approving the Fund's organizational structure.

• 10) Approving the establishment of branches of the Fund inside and outside the Kingdom as needed.

• 11) Reviewing periodic reports on the progress of work in the Fund and taking necessary decisions thereon.

• 12) Proposing draft regulations related to the Fund's competencies, and proposing amendments to the existing ones, in preparation for submitting them to complete statutory procedures.

• 13) Approving the Fund's conclusion of agreements and contracts, according to the applicable statutory procedures.

• 14) Determining the financial consideration to cover the operational costs of supervising the management of the Kingdom's government grants, in agreement with the Ministry of Finance.

• 15) To achieve these competencies, the Board may form permanent or temporary committees from among its members or others, entrusted with tasks it deems appropriate, with the decision forming each committee specifying its chairperson, members, competencies, and the remuneration of its chairperson and members. Each committee may seek assistance from whomever it deems fit to perform the assigned tasks. The Board may also delegate some of its competencies to any of its members, the CEO, any of the committees, or Fund employees.

• The Fund shall have a Chief Executive Officer, who is appointed to his position and relieved from it by a Decision of the Board of Directors, which specifies his salary and other financial benefits. He is responsible for managing the affairs of the Fund, and his responsibilities are concentrated within the limits set by the Law and determined by the Council. He shall specifically undertake the following responsibilities:

  • 1- Proposing strategies related to the Fund's activities, and the plans and programs necessary for their implementation.

  • 2- Supervising the workflow in the Fund through the approved regulations, plans, and programs.

  • 3- Supervising the preparation of the Fund's annual report, its budget draft, and its final accounts; in preparation for submitting them to the Council.

  • 4- Supervising the reports related to the implementation of the Fund's plans and programs, and submitting them to the Council.

  • 5- Representing the Fund before judges, government entities, and other relevant institutions, as well as other entities inside and outside the Kingdom, and he may delegate others to do so.

  • 6- Seeking assistance from experts, specialists, and qualified consultants in areas related to the Fund's competencies.

  • 7- Disbursing from the Fund's budget and taking all financial actions, in accordance with the approved regulations and within the limits of the powers delegated to him by the Council.

  • 8- Contracting for the execution of works and provision of services, etc., in accordance with the powers delegated to him by the Council.

  • 9- Issuing the necessary Decisions to implement the provisions contained in the Law and the regulations issued thereunder, according to the powers granted to him.

  • 10- Appointing the Fund's personnel and supervising them, in accordance with the regulations governing that.

  • 11- Any other competencies assigned to him by the Council.

• The Chief Executive Officer may delegate some of his competencies to whomever he sees fit among the Fund's personnel.

• Before granting a loan, the SFD shall take the steps necessary to ensure the productivity of the project and viability of repayment, taking into account the following considerations:

  • a) The financial solvency of the country requesting the loan, taking into consideration the size of the loan and the adequacy of the financial and economic resources for repayment.

  • b) The importance of the project subject of the loan, its priority over other projects, and its integration with other economic facilities of the borrowing country.

  • c) The adequacy of the project’s technical and economic viability studies.

  • d) The availability of sufficient funds to the borrowing country to execute the project, in addition to the loan amount.

• The Fund grants loans while considering the following conditions:

  • A) It must be proven to the Fund the economic or social feasibility in the borrowing country for the project requiring financing.

  • B) The loan must be repaid in Saudi Riyals.

  • C) The amount of the loan for any project shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the Fund's capital, and the Board of Directors of the Fund shall determine the Fund's contribution percentage from the Total Cost of the borrowing project, provided that the needs for the establishment of the project are met with products from the national industry available locally and conforming to the required quality standards, as much as possible.

  • D) The total amount of loans granted to any country at one time shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the Fund's capital.

• The Council of Ministers may, based on the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Fund and the proposal of the Board of Directors of the National Development Fund, waive one of these conditions when justified.

• Each contract concluded by the SFD with any loan recipient country must include provisions to:

  • a) allocate the entire loan amount to the relevant project and inform the SFD of the manner of disbursement and the manner of coordination with other sources of financing;

  • b) provide assistance and information to the SFD, upon request, regarding work progress in the relevant project from the date of signing the contract until the date of full repayment of the loan;

  • c) provide assistance to the SFD employees assigned to undertake tasks related to the loan in the borrowing country and grant them immunity similar to that of diplomatic missions;

  • d) facilitate the SFD financial transactions in the borrowing country and exempt the loan amount and the SFD assets from restrictions on the transfer of funds, currencies, and instruments arising directly or indirectly from the amount of the loan;

  • e) exempt the SFD transactions and income in the borrowing country from taxes, fees, and other government charges of any type;

  • f) exempt the SFD assets in the borrowing country from confiscation, nationalization, custody, sequestration, and seizure; and

  • g) classify the SFD documents, records, and correspondence as confidential and provide the SFD with full immunity in the borrowing country from control and inspection of the SFD printed materials.

• The SFD may request the borrower to provide collaterals for the loan.

• Without prejudice to the SFD rights arising from the loan contract, the rules of general law, or international norms, the SFD may, if the borrowing country violates any of the obligations of the loan contract, suspend the payment of the unpaid loan installments and consider all paid amounts along with other expenses stipulated in the loan contract to be immediately due, without any notification, warning, or judicial procedure.