Saudi Arabia has introduced a scheme to boost employment of Saudi nationals by fining companies that draw more than half their staff from expatriate circles, The Saudi Gazette reports.

The new rules which came into force on 15 November mean that companies can be fined 2,400 riyals (£402) a year for each foreign employee above the 50% level.

In a statement, Saudi deputy minister of labour for planning and development, Moufarrej Haqbani, says the government is trying to change the private sector’s culture from one of “importing cheap labour from abroad to one of developing national talent”. 

The money generated from the fines will go to a fund to train Saudi youths for jobs, he adds.