Saudi Arabia’s PIF and BlackRock sign MoU to jointly explore Middle East infrastructure projects
The target projects are across a range of sectors including energy, power, utilities, water, environment, transportation, telecommunications, and social infrastructure
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with global investment company BlackRock to anchor the latter’s Middle East Infrastructure strategy and establish a framework to jointly explore infrastructure projects in the Middle East.
In a statement, PIF said that the majority of investment activity will be focused on the Kingdom, while BlackRock added that it will look to build a dedicated infrastructure investment team in Riyadh to cover the Middle East region, in order to support the initiative.
The statement added that the target projects are across a range of sectors including energy, power, utilities, water, environment, transportation, telecommunications, and social infrastructure. Furthermore, the partnership aims to leverages positive Saudi and regional market dynamics to deliver sustainable long-term returns, it continued.
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“PIF and BlackRock plan to work together to attract regional and international investors to participate in investment projects, boost foreign direct investment (FDI) into Saudi Arabia, add value to the Saudi Arabian economy and the wider market while facilitating knowledge and skills transfer,” the statement added.
“The MoU signing is aligned with PIF’s mandate to explore new investment opportunities in the MENA region, while enabling and supporting Saudi private sector participation. It further cements PIF’s partnership with BlackRock and allows both parties to explore opportunities in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, in line with PIF’s strategy to expand its local and regional investment portfolio,” it concluded.
In October 2021, Saudi Arabia, advised by BlackRock, launched a national infrastructure fund to support up to US $53bn in projects, including water, transportation, energy and health, over the next decade.
In October 2022, Red Sea Global confirmed its new brand identity and mandate and, in November 2022, Partanna and Red Sea Global signed a MoU to explore carbon-negative concrete developments.
