Saudi king orders $35bn in benefits for citizens
Saudi King Abdullah returned home after three months abroad for medical treatment on Wednesday and unveiled a series of benefits for citizens estimated to be worth $35 billion.
The benefits include funding to offset high inflation, to help young unemployed people and to support families to get affordable housing.
Hundreds of men in white robes performed a traditional Bedouin sword dance on carpets laid out at Riyadh airport as they prepared to greet the monarch, thought to be 87.
Television presenters wore scarves in the colours of the Saudi flag in coverage termed "the joy of a nation" in celebration of the king, who was standing when he first descended from his plane before taking to a wheelchair.
Before his arrival, state media announced the action plan to help lower- and middle-income Saudis among the 18 million native population. The package included pay rises to offset inflation, unemployment benefits and affordable housing for families.
Abdullah travelled to the United States in November for surgery to a herniated disk which caused blood accumulation around the spine. He has been recuperating in Morocco for the past four weeks.
During his absence, Abdullah's slightly younger half-brother Crown Prince Sultan was in charge.
"Housing and job creation for Saudis are two structural challenges this country is facing," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi, who put the total value of the king's measures at 140 billion riyals ($37.33 billion).
G20-member Saudi Arabia has outlined spending of 580 billion riyals for 2011 in its third consecutive record budget. The king said last month expenditures would rise in the coming years.
EFG-Hermes estimated the package at around 100 billion riyals, saying it could trigger a rally in a stock market that lost 4 per cent over the past week on unrest in the region.
Under the king's measures announced on Saudi TV, the state will pay aid for unemployed young people and tuition fees to study abroad, while waiving loans.
A state programme to help Saudis to get affordable housing will be supported alone with 40 billion riyals.