PIF to invest $266bn into Saudi Arabia’s economy over the next five years
PIF governor notes that the fund has become a major driver of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and achieved a number of successes between 2018 and 2020
Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan has announced that over the next five years, the PIF will invest $266.55bn into the Saudi economy. The move is expected to create 1.8m direct and indirect jobs by the end of 2025.
According to a Saudi Press Agency report, the jobs will be in sectors such as entertainment, tourism and sports, building and construction materials and real estate services. Al-Rumayyan’s remarks were made during a presentation on the growth and development of the PIF, which is said to have become a major engine driving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, and a catalyst for diversifying the local economy.
Al-Rumayyan stated that during the next five years, the fund aims to focus on 13 vital sectors such as food, agriculture, aviation, defense, entertainment, tourism, sports, minerals, mining, transportation, logistics, financial services and others.
He explained, “The Public Investment Fund chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, renews its commitment to continue working to support the development and economic diversification efforts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in building an integrated economy for generations.”
He pointed out that the fund had several major achievements between 2018 and 2020. It contributed to achieving a clear impact at the local and global levels, such as raising the volume of assets by the end of 2020 to nearly $400bn, and achieved a significant increase in the total shareholder return, which doubled from about 3% in the period between 2014 and 2016 to about 8% in the period between 2018 and 2019, the report said.
Commenting on the most prominent targets of the new strategy, Al-Rumayyan remarked that the fund aspires to raise the value of its assets under management to 1.1tn; $266bn cumulative investment in new projects locally; and raising the percentage of investments in new sectors of the fund’s assets from 15% in 2020 to 21% in 2021. These targets will increase the fund’s contribution to non-oil GDP by $320bn cumulatively, creating 1.8m jobs, in addition to contributing to local content to reach 60% of the fund and its subsidiaries, the report said.
Al-Rumayyan said that the fund has witnessed an important shift in its strategy, in order to be able to activate its role in diversifying the sources of income and non-oil revenues. He also indicated that the fund’s efforts are not limited to developing the Kingdom’s wealth by investing in financially viable projects only, but also to support new sectors through which the fund aims to enhance the growth of promising sectors and achieve a sustainable economic and development impact.
