RIYADH: The governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday it would reduce the portion of its overseas investments after years of splashy deals including in sports and entertainment. Describing how the Public Investment Fund (PIF) had grown over the past decade or so, Yasir Al-Rumayyan told an investment forum in Riyadh that the share of international investments had jumped from less than two percent to 30 percent. "Now our target is to bring it down to a range between 18 to 20 percent,” he said. "Having said that, the absolute dollar amount, it’s still growing.”
The PIF has been the engine of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to diversify the economy of the world’s biggest crude exporter away from oil.
Founded in 1971, the PIF maintained a low-profile portfolio for decades until a 2015 cabinet resolution reconstituted its board and named Prince Mohammed chairman. From world-class footballers to a new national airline and even a specialty shop serving camel milk gelato, the fund has poured billions into a wide range of deals in recent years. Rumayyan said on Tuesday it had established 92 new companies including NEOM, a planned futuristic mega-city. The fund currently has about $930 billion in assets under management, he said. Prince Mohammed has said he wants the fund to have $1 trillion in assets by the end of 2025.
Rumayyan’s announcement on Tuesday comes as skepticism mounts over the Gulf kingdom’s most ambitious development projects, including NEOM. The PIF has also stressed it wants to help build local industries, including Saudi coffee and dates. — AFP