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PIF-backed Oman infrastructure fund raises $1 billion

By Matt Smith
terminal, boats, sea, cranes Unsplash/Olga Subach
Rakiza has spent some of the fund on 31 percent of a Port Sohar container terminal in Oman
  • Fund focus includes renewables, water, telecoms and logistics
  • Rakiza close to making first investment in Saudi Arabia

Omani infrastructure investor Rakiza, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, has closed its first fund, raising more than $1 billion from participants. 

Rakiza has already spent a quarter of this money in buying three Omani assets – a 30 percent stake in a telecom tower portfolio, 31 percent of a Port Sohar container terminal and a majority holding in a new fruit and vegetable market – it said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The fund targets investments in renewables, water, telecoms, transport and logistics, and social infrastructure in Oman and Saudi Arabia. 

“The pipeline of near-term opportunities is strong and there are several further investments which are nearing financial close, including in what would be Rakiza’s first acquisition in Saudi Arabia,” the statement said. 

Oman has embarked on a multi-billion-dollar programme to upgrade its infrastructure.

This month a minister said the sultanate would spend $2.6 billion in constructing 1,300km of new roads, while a state-run energy firm signed six deals worth $20 billion to build green hydrogen projects across the country. 

In August, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) invested $300 million in Rakiza, which is co-managed by Oman Infrastructure Investment Management and London-based Equitix.

“The GCC is an attractive home for smart capital, and an exciting investment destination for those with local access,” Equitix’s co-founder and chief executive Hugh Crossley said in Tuesday’s statement. 

“Driven by Rakiza’s local investment teams in Muscat and Riyadh offices, we aim to deliver on the fund’s return objectives, by investing in and developing compelling essential infrastructure projects.”

Last October, Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, said PIF would launch five companies to invest in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Sudan.

Together with PIF’s Egyptian subsidiary, these six companies will invest up to $24 billion in total.

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