Company Insights Public Investment Fund (PIF) Finance Latest Public Investment Fund (PIF) DevelopmentsAI Insights The Public Investment Fund (PIF) continues to actively participate in high-profile global initiatives by signing an official partnership deal to support the Fifa Club World Cup in 2025. The deal involves significant strategic support, although the financial specifics have not been disclosed 4. PIF's approach to investments within the GCC contrasts with the Kuwait Investment Authority, which maintains a more discreet and indirect investment style, opting to operate through asset managers instead of direct investments in domestic initiatives 3. The Gulf IPO market has seen PIF become a prominent participant, particularly following its role in overseeing significant privatisations such as the Saudi Aramco IPO in 2019, suggesting a potential involvement in future privatisation IPOs within Saudi Arabia 5. PIF recently engaged in discussions with OpenAI, Reliance Industries and MGX regarding a potential financing round of $40 billion led by SoftBank. This financing could involve significant investments from the parties, with individual contributions anticipated to be at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars 1. During the Credit Suisse crisis in March 2023, PIF saw its investment in Saudi National Bank substantially affected when the bank's 9.88 percent stake in Credit Suisse was devalued as part of the UBS rescue operation 2. Public Investment Fund (PIF) Overview Founded by royal decree by King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1971, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was established as a mechanism for investment on behalf of the government. In July 2014 the PIF authority was granted permission to fund new companies inside and outside Saudi Arabia, either independently or in cooperation with the public and private sectors. PIF is aligned with the Saudi Arabian government’s Vision 2030 with the aim to diversify the economy and is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with total estimated assets of US$930 billion. More than 60 percent of PIF’s investments are within Saudi Arabia, including giga-projects such as Neom, Rua al Madinah, Amaala and Qiddiya, as well as Acwa Power, Maaden, Riyadh Air, Saudi National Bank and Saudi Tadawul. PIF’s international investments include Accor, the Americana group, Blackstone, Jio Platforms, Lucid Motors, the Selfridges Group and Uber. PIF is also increasing its sport portfolio and partnerships, including establishing LIV golf and investing in English football club Newcastle United, as well as snooker, Formula 1, boxing, mixed martial arts, tennis, baseball and even darts. With headquarters in Digital City in Riyadh, PIF also has offices in London, Hong Kong and New York. Public Investment Fund (PIF) News Markets PIF banks Nintendo win but may have sold too soon Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) pocketed an estimated profit of 175 billion yen ($1.22 billion) trading Nintendo shares, but it may yet rue trimming its stake just months before the Switch 2 console’s record-breaking debut last week. The PIF has invested in video game publishers and console makers worldwide, often through subsidiary Savvy Games […] June 13, 2025 Analysis Telecoms Analysts opt for small Gulf telcos despite profits at majors The Gulf’s major former telecom monopolies reported steady first-quarter profit growth and have proved a safe haven for equity investors during market volatility this year. However, it is their smaller domestic rivals that analysts prefer. Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the UAE’s e& (formerly and more commonly known as Etisalat), Qatar’s Ooredoo and Kuwait’s Zain are […] June 13, 2025 Analysis Construction Slowdown looms for Saudi construction as PIF cuts contracts The number of construction contracts issued by the Saudi government and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has fallen drastically amid a decline in oil revenues and a realignment of large-scale infrastructure projects. The drop indicates a slowdown in the Saudi construction sector, previously one of the most vibrant in the world. Last year it accounted […] June 12, 2025 Artificial Intelligence OpenAI holds talks to raise money from PIF ChatGPT maker OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), India’s Reliance Industries and existing shareholder MGX of the UAE about its $40 billion financing, The Information reported on Wednesday. The investors could put in at least hundreds of millions of dollars each, the report said, citing people familiar with the issue. OpenAI […] June 12, 2025 Analysis Manufacturing Cement’s mixed results reflect Saudi outlook In some respects, Saudi cement producers, important constituents of the Tadawul stock exchange and bellwethers of the national economy, have never had it so good. The kingdom has an array of giga-projects underway and is preparing to host a series of high profile international events, from the World Expo in Riyadh in 2030 to the […] June 12, 2025 Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia will issue more debt to meet budget shortfall Saudi Arabia will probably issue at least $10 billion more in bonds and sukuk this year to help fund the kingdom’s widening budget deficit. Since posting a surplus in 2022 thanks to oil prices hitting a 10-year peak that year, Saudi Arabia has posted annual deficits due to lower crude revenues and higher government spending. […] June 11, 2025 Analysis Banking and Finance Why government-related debt is worth a punt Debt sales by government-related entities (GRE) in the Gulf, such as Saudi Electricity Co and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co, offer better investor value than their sovereigns, experts say. Gulf foreign currency sales of conventional and sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds) rose 9 percent to $72.4 billion in the five months to May 31, compared with the […] June 11, 2025 Opinion Markets Looming ‘5 on 10’ crunch will concentrate minds in the Gulf The yield on 10-year US Treasury bills is creeping up towards 5% June 9, 2025 Analysis Finance The KIA maintains its low profile approach – for now Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is not only the oldest Gulf sovereign wealth fund, but also the most opaque. It publishes little information about its assets and usually invests abroad through asset managers rather than directly. Its low-profile approach contrasts with the likes of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar […] June 9, 2025 Analysis Finance Saudi Arabia demands more from global asset managers International asset managers looking to raise funds in Saudi Arabia can no longer do so as easily without establishing a presence in the kingdom and aligning their activities with the country’s Vision 2030 diversification goals, analysts say. Despite the kingdom’s commitment this year to invest and trade as much as $600 billion in the US […] June 9, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 101 Next
Markets PIF banks Nintendo win but may have sold too soon Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) pocketed an estimated profit of 175 billion yen ($1.22 billion) trading Nintendo shares, but it may yet rue trimming its stake just months before the Switch 2 console’s record-breaking debut last week. The PIF has invested in video game publishers and console makers worldwide, often through subsidiary Savvy Games […] June 13, 2025
Analysis Telecoms Analysts opt for small Gulf telcos despite profits at majors The Gulf’s major former telecom monopolies reported steady first-quarter profit growth and have proved a safe haven for equity investors during market volatility this year. However, it is their smaller domestic rivals that analysts prefer. Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the UAE’s e& (formerly and more commonly known as Etisalat), Qatar’s Ooredoo and Kuwait’s Zain are […] June 13, 2025
Analysis Construction Slowdown looms for Saudi construction as PIF cuts contracts The number of construction contracts issued by the Saudi government and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has fallen drastically amid a decline in oil revenues and a realignment of large-scale infrastructure projects. The drop indicates a slowdown in the Saudi construction sector, previously one of the most vibrant in the world. Last year it accounted […] June 12, 2025
Artificial Intelligence OpenAI holds talks to raise money from PIF ChatGPT maker OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), India’s Reliance Industries and existing shareholder MGX of the UAE about its $40 billion financing, The Information reported on Wednesday. The investors could put in at least hundreds of millions of dollars each, the report said, citing people familiar with the issue. OpenAI […] June 12, 2025
Analysis Manufacturing Cement’s mixed results reflect Saudi outlook In some respects, Saudi cement producers, important constituents of the Tadawul stock exchange and bellwethers of the national economy, have never had it so good. The kingdom has an array of giga-projects underway and is preparing to host a series of high profile international events, from the World Expo in Riyadh in 2030 to the […] June 12, 2025
Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia will issue more debt to meet budget shortfall Saudi Arabia will probably issue at least $10 billion more in bonds and sukuk this year to help fund the kingdom’s widening budget deficit. Since posting a surplus in 2022 thanks to oil prices hitting a 10-year peak that year, Saudi Arabia has posted annual deficits due to lower crude revenues and higher government spending. […] June 11, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance Why government-related debt is worth a punt Debt sales by government-related entities (GRE) in the Gulf, such as Saudi Electricity Co and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co, offer better investor value than their sovereigns, experts say. Gulf foreign currency sales of conventional and sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds) rose 9 percent to $72.4 billion in the five months to May 31, compared with the […] June 11, 2025
Opinion Markets Looming ‘5 on 10’ crunch will concentrate minds in the Gulf The yield on 10-year US Treasury bills is creeping up towards 5% June 9, 2025
Analysis Finance The KIA maintains its low profile approach – for now Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is not only the oldest Gulf sovereign wealth fund, but also the most opaque. It publishes little information about its assets and usually invests abroad through asset managers rather than directly. Its low-profile approach contrasts with the likes of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar […] June 9, 2025
Analysis Finance Saudi Arabia demands more from global asset managers International asset managers looking to raise funds in Saudi Arabia can no longer do so as easily without establishing a presence in the kingdom and aligning their activities with the country’s Vision 2030 diversification goals, analysts say. Despite the kingdom’s commitment this year to invest and trade as much as $600 billion in the US […] June 9, 2025
