Saudi Arabia's central bank has extended a deferred payment programme meant to help support the private sector by an additional three months until March 31, it said on Thursday.

The extension is aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises that are still affected by the precautionary measures put in place during the coronavirus pandemic, the bank said in a statement.

(Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad; Writing by Nadine Awadalla Editing by Gareth Jones)