The Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia plans to triple its staff to around 200 people and increase its assets to more than $400 billion by 2020.
According to a newly revealed programme, the fund will launch 30 initiatives that aim to create 20,000 direct domestic jobs and a quarter of a million construction jobs. The hope is to increase the fund’s contribution to GDP by nearly two percentage points to 6.3%.
“At home, the Public Investment Fund Programme will unlock value in the domestic portfolio and drive forward strategic and sustainable diversification by creating opportunities in a range of different industries,” said Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince and the architect of Saudi Arabia’s reform plan.
“Internationally, the fund has begun to invest in some of the world’s most innovative companies and formed partnerships that will support long-term income diversification and ensure Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of emerging trends.”
Set up in 1971, the Public Investment Fund was designed to support strategic sectors of the national economy. The fund is an important component of the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to modernise the Saudi economy and reduce the country’s dependence on petrochemical wealth.
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