PIF Seeks Opportunities in Several Economic Sectors

Business

April 26th, 9:59am

Dammam- Mosaed al-Zayani

PIF Seeks Opportunities in Several Economic Sectors

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is scouting the world for bargain investments amid the economic wreckage of the coronavirus crisis. It seeks to enhance its investments in a number of different economic sectors. PIF has been able to provide high performance recently in the technology sector. “We are looking into any opportunity,” Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the $320bn fund, said at a virtual event on Thursday held by Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative. “Once the economy is open and up, I think we will see a lot of opportunities,” he said, giving airlines, energy, and entertainment companies as examples. Rumayyan said that what the world is going through at the moment is a health crisis, and what happens in the economy is a result of that crisis, indicating that many sectors were able to work efficiently during the shutdown. PIF, according to Rumayyan, has 95% of its labor force working remotely. “Work performance has achieved very high levels, which is unprecedented, while some sectors cannot achieve the efficiency levels of business continuity,” Rumayyan said. The PIF earlier this month disclosed an 8.2% stake in coronavirus-hit Carnival Corp, sending the cruise operator's shares nearly 30% higher. It has also recently accumulated stakes in four major European oil companies, a source told Reuters this month. PIF manages over $300 billion in assets and has stakes in Uber and electric car company Lucid Motors. In recent years, the PIF has also invested in technology firms including Uber Technologies Inc. and Lucid Inc, and has committed large sums to Softbank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund. Rumayyan, a former chief executive officer of a Saudi investment bank, is one of the key figures in Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s plan to shift the Saudi economy away from a reliance on crude sales. In addition to his role as head of the PIF, Rumayyan is chairman of Saudi Aramco, the state-controlled oil producer.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2253546/pif-seeks-opportunities-several-economic-sectors