Salem commended the King, the Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier for their generous and great support for the Fund. The report said that the number of industrial loans approved last year was 111, showing an increase of 4 loans from 1429H involving an amount of SR 5.186 billion. He explained that 76 loans were for new industrial projects and that 35 other loans are meant for projects which are undergoing expansions. It noted that the value of the amounts paid by the Fund during the past year (1430H) rose by 7.6 percent despite the global financial crisis amounting to an amount of SR 5.442 billion, a record amount since the establishment of the Fund, indicating that loans repayment amounted to SR 1.727 billion last year, nearly the same amount of repayment in the previous year which points to the strength of the industrial sector despite the global financial crisis.
