Saudi Arabia's PIF, Bahrain's Mumtalakat Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation, Investment in Strategic Sectors 

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia's PIF, Bahrain's Mumtalakat Sign MoU to Promote Cooperation, Investment in Strategic Sectors 

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)
The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand cooperation and enable new and promising investment opportunities in Bahrain.

The MoU provides multiple benefits to PIF and its portfolio companies by providing investment opportunities aimed at boosting PIF’s investments in Bahrain. It also allows for the creation of additional opportunities for the private sector in both countries, said a PIF statement.

“We are pleased to cooperate with PIF. This cooperation is an extension of the strong relations that bring the two kingdoms together,” said Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company CEO Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

“The memorandum signed today aims to enhance cooperation between Mumtalakat and PIF by establishing strategic partnerships and stimulating partnership opportunities for the private sector to support the diversification of the economy in the two brotherly countries."

He added: “This is also in line with Mumtalakat’s efforts to invest in promising economic sectors, provide quality job opportunities, continue to contribute to the national economy, and work towards achieving the goals of Bahrain Vision 2030.”

Deputy Governor and head of MENA Investments at PIF Yazeed A. Al-Humied said: “The MoU with Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company is an important step that aims to contribute to enhancing collaboration and investment opportunities in various sectors in Bahrain.”

“The MoU also supports PIF’s objectives of building long-term strategic regional partnerships that bring additional value to local economies and create more partnership opportunities for the private sector. It also enables the achievement of sustainable returns that further contribute to maximizing PIF’s assets and diversifying the economy in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.”

Through this agreement, PIF seeks to increase its investments in multiple targeted sectors in Bahrain, while Mumtalakat aims to explore attractive investment opportunities for cooperation and partnership with PIF.

The MoU follows the establishment of the Saudi-Bahraini Investment Company – a PIF subsidiary – which aims to invest up to $5 billion in multiple promising sectors in Bahrain. The company has recently inaugurated its office, in Manama, to expand its range of investment activities.

PIF is one of the largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds in the world. It plays a leading role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and diversification, as well as contributing to shaping the future of the global economy. Since 2017, PIF has established 93 companies in 13 strategic sectors locally and globally.

Mumtalakat Holding Company owns shares in more than 50 commercial companies covering a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, real estate and tourism, logistics, technology and media, communications, financial services, public services, consumer goods, healthcare, and education.



Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Edges Up on Strong US GDP Data

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices were up slightly on Friday on stronger-than-expected US economic data that raised investor expectations for increasing crude oil demand from the world's largest energy consumer.

But concerns about soft economic conditions in Asia's biggest economies, China and Japan, capped gains.

Brent crude futures for September rose 7 cents to $82.44 a barrel by 0014 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September increased 4 cents to $78.32 per barrel, Reuters reported.

In the second quarter, the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised rate of 2.8% as consumers spent more and businesses increased investments, Commerce Department data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted US gross domestic product would grow by 2.0% over the period.

At the same time, inflation pressures eased, which kept intact expectations that the Federal Reserve would move forward with a September interest rate cut. Lower interest rates tend to boost economic activity, which can spur oil demand.

Still, continued signs of trouble in parts of Asia limited oil price gains.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital were up 2.2% in July from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, raising market expectations of an interest rate hike in the near term.

But an index that strips away energy costs, seen as a better gauge of underlying price trends, rose at the slowest annual pace in nearly two years, suggesting that price hikes are moderating due to soft consumption.

China, the world's biggest crude importer, surprised markets for a second time this week by conducting an unscheduled lending operation on Thursday at steeply lower rates, suggesting authorities are trying to provide heavier monetary stimulus to prop up the economy.