Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has seen a burst of activity in recent weeks following a string of Saudi investments.
Established far back in 1971, the current mandate at the Public Investment Fund is economic diversification, and local and global investments. It aims to have USD 1 trillion in annual assets under management (AUM) by 2025, with yearly domestic investments to the tune of USD 40 billion.
As of 2020, the Fund has reached nearly USD 400 billion in AUM, up from USD 150 billion just five years ago. Shareholder return between 2018 and 2020 stood at 8%.
Here’s a look at the week that was for Saudi’s Public Investment Fund.
RECENT SAUDI INVESTMENTS BY THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND (PIF)
PIF committed 20% of a regional infrastructure fund by Aberdeen Standard Investcorp Infrastructure Partners (ASIIP) late last week. With a fund size of USD 800 million, the capital commitment amounts to USD 160 million.
Additionally, ASIIP also received a commitment of USD 90 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, of which Saudi Arabia is a founding member.
The investment was in accordance with PIF’s goals of securing strategic economic partnerships and opportunities, and investing patient capital in sectors with long-term growth prospects, a statement from ASIIP said.
Elsewhere, the PIF struck a partnership with E1 Series to facilitate the world’s first electric powerboat racing competition. The announcement was made at the unveiling of E1 Series’ new electric RaceBird powerboat.
The Saudi investments are in line with the Fund’s 2021-25 strategy, focusing on sports and Entertainment, and Renewable Energy, a statement said.
The Saudi investments in June come on the heels of a USD 240 million initiative in partnership with the French Development Agency last month, to finance post-pandemic recovery in Africa. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman added that additional Saudi investments to the tune of USD 1 billion through projects, loans and grants, would also make its way under the Saudi Fund for Development.
Meanwhile, PIF also made a series of hiring decisions last week. It established two deputy governor roles, held by Head of International Investments Turqi Alnowaiser and Head of MENA Investments Yazeed Alhumaied.
It also appointed Eyas AlDossari and Omar AlMadhi as Senior Directors to its MENA Investments Division, and Abdullah Shaker as Senior Director to its Global Capital Finance Division.
EXPAND YOUR REAL ESTATE KNOWLEDGE
Subscribe to the Cityscape Intelligence newsletter here