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  • Saudi Arabia’s Events Investment Fund acquires stake in Tahaluf, the Informa-KSA strategic joint venture supporting Vision 2030

    Events Investment Fund (EIF), a part of National Development Fund has acquired a stake in Tahaluf, the Saudi Arabian large-scale live events company created through a strategic joint venture between the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) and Informa, the international academic markets, B2B markets and digital services group.

  • Saudi Arabia’s PIF launches Asfar tourism investment company

    The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of the Saudi Tourism Investment Company (Asfar) to support the growth of the country’s tourism sector. The company will invest in new tourism projects and develop attractive destinations with hospitality, tourist attractions, retail, and food and beverage offerings in cities across the Kingdom, in addition to investing in the local tourism value chain.

  • How Saudi investments are impacting the world of sports: Video

    After getting rejected by Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabia has made an offer to another soccer superstar that may be too good to refuse. The Saudi club Al Hilal has proposed a world-record $332 million transfer fee to bring Kylian Mbappé from the French club Paris Saint-Germain. Michael Goldberg, senior vice president of sports finance for global credit rating firm DBRS Morningstar, discussed the business of soccer and how Saudi investments are reshaping the landscape.

  • Saudi Arabia signs deal to develop investment in automotive manufacturing and autonomous vehicle technology

    Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to develop the investment in the automotive manufacturing and the autonomous vehicle technology. The MoU was signed between the Kingdom's Ministry of Investment and two companies Rigel and Clevon. The Ministry has stated that this MoU considered as an important step and a milestone in shaping the future of innovation in Saudi Arabia.

  • The Open is Golf’s First Major to Entertain Saudi Investment

    Late Monday, it was confirmed that Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan met with R&A CEO Martin Slumbers on Sunday during the Open Championship’s final round at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, as American Brian Harman claimed victory by six strokes. According to The Telegraph, the meeting was “more symbolic than substantive.” Also at the meeting was Amanda Staveley — a key PIF associate and minority owner of Newcastle United who helped facilitate Al-Rumayyan’s discussions with the PGA Tour. Ahead of the Open, Slumbers wouldn’t rule out taking money from the Saudis and acknowledged the R&A’s struggle to keep up with rising prize funds in pro golf. The Open’s $16.5 million purse was the smallest of golf’s four majors — and less than every purse on the LIV circuit and the PGA Tour’s elevated events.

  • Saudi Arabia eyes more oil investments in Iraq as top officials meet

    Saudi Arabia’s investments in the oil sector are expected to accelerate further as a delegation comprising Mohammed Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim, the Kingdom’s assistant minister for oil and gas, met his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad. Saudi Arabian Oil Co officials also accompanied the Saudi minister and reviewed several investment opportunities in the energy sector, exploratory sites and refining facilities. The state news agency reported that Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani welcomed Saudi companies to invest in various sectors, including energy refining and infrastructure. According to Iraqi News Agency, the Oil Ministry also welcomed the Saudi partnership and added that cooperation between both countries would help develop the energy sector in the nation.

  • Kuwait Plans New Sovereign Investment Fund to Boost Growth

    Kuwait plans to launch a new sovereign investment vehicle to invest in the local market and boost economic growth, according to the government’s latest work program. The Ciyada Development Fund, as the new vehicle is called, “aims at accelerating growth of the Kuwaiti economy and improving quality of life, and enhancing advancement in different fields of development, through strategic planning and effective execution of mega development projects,” according to the program, officially released on Sunday.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Investments Raise Questions of ‘Sportswashing’

    Saudi officials say that sports investments are part of Vision 2030, a broad government plan to diversify the country’s economy beyond oil. (Another controversial investment sector is technology.) They assert that sports investments will help boost foreign investment, increase domestic employment, spur tourism to Saudi Arabia, and encourage fitness in a country that struggles with obesity. Indeed, sports’ contribution to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product (GDP) almost tripled between 2016 and 2019, prior to many of the country’s more high-profile investments.

  • Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Reports $11 Billion Investment Loss for 2022

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund took an $11 billion loss on its investments last year — even as it stepped up a worldwide spending spree — after tumbling global stock and bond prices impacted its holdings. That compares with a profit on investment activities of $19 billion in 2021 as markets rallied in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Saudi Aramco Getting Cash Meant for Sustainable Investment Reveals ESG Loophole

    Maria Lozovik, a London-based Bank of America investment banking veteran who founded Marsham Investment Management in 2016, says part of the problem is that ESG rating calculation methodologies are “often not transparent and face data gaps, which have to be filled by estimates.” Investors in ESG-labeled exchange-traded funds need to “conduct thorough due diligence into what they’re actually investing in,” she said.