The world's largest asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N), said on Tuesday it plans to launch a new investment platform in Saudi Arabia, backed by up to $5 billion from Saudi sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
BlackRock and PIF said they had signed a memorandum of understanding under which BlackRock would establish a Riyadh-based multi-asset investment platform.
The two parties said the platform would accelerate growth of Saudi Arabia's capital markets, with a Riyadh-based investment team looking to raise additional funds locally and overseas.
A BlackRock spokesperson said its platform would be focused on Saudi Arabia but would span investments across the Middle East and North Africa, including infrastructure and credit within private markets and equities in public markets.
BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink said that Saudi Arabia had become an "increasingly attractive" destination for international investment.
PIF's deputy governor Yazeed A. Al-Humied said the agreement would help make the Saudi investment market more internationally diverse and dynamic.