Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak Governor of SAMA asserted that the new change of working days will reduce the gap missed previously when dealing with the world by 50 percent and correspond to working days in the GCC countries.

The Governor has clarified that The Royal Order, which shifted working days to Sunday-Thursday and weekend to Friday-Saturday, is complementary of royal orders and directives which are all in the interest of our national economy and it will reduce the gap in working days when dealing with the external world by 50 percent, from four days to two days.

He also stressed that the change of weekend will achieve further compatibility in working days between the domestic banks and insurance and finance companies and their regional and international counterparts, providing more opportunities for them to grow further.

He said that Saudi Arabia has the largest economy in the Middle East and a strong banking and financial sector that has huge financial dealings with international and regional economies, as well as with the Kingdom�s trading partners. In addition, it has membership in several international and regional financial organizations, such as G20, the World Bank, IMF, OPEC and other international organizations. Therefore, this requires the official working days in the Kingdom to be more in line with the working days at the regional and international levels.

He added that the financial, banking, insurance and financing sectors and the business environment in the Kingdom will benefit from this Royal Order that will enhance the productivity of the various economic sectors and have a positive impact on the welfare of the people of this country.