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Saudi PIF Sets Framework for Green Financing

Saudi PIF Sets Framework for Green Financing
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Saudi PIF Sets Framework for Green Financing

Saudi PIF Sets Framework for Green Financing

Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, laid out plans on Monday for raising green debt as the world's top oil exporter strives to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060.

The Fund published the green finance framework that will allow it to tap world markets to issue debt linked to environmentally friendly goals, including the sale of green bonds.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a PIF subsidiary, invited local, regional, and international companies specialized in waste management and recycling to register their interest in waste management and recycling projects in Riyadh.

SIRC has set a target to divert 94 percent of MSW from landfills by 2035, according to the Saudi Green Initiative.

According to SIRC's press statement, the projects are expected to be set up on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The statement said the solution would enable the entire Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) value chain, from sorting at source to the collection, transportation, treatment, and recycling, and include sorting and recycling stations, waste-to-energy, and alternative fuel (Refuse Derived Fuel) production plants and composting facilities.

SIRC, along with the private sector, will develop the ecosystem under the rules and regulations of the National Centre for Waste Management (MWAN), the statement added.

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WGC: Gold Investment Hits 3-year High in 1st Quarter on Trade Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: Gold bangles are displayed at a jewellery store in Mumbai, India, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bangles are displayed at a jewellery store in Mumbai, India, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
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WGC: Gold Investment Hits 3-year High in 1st Quarter on Trade Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: Gold bangles are displayed at a jewellery store in Mumbai, India, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bangles are displayed at a jewellery store in Mumbai, India, March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

Global gold demand including over-the-counter (OTC) trading rose by 1% year-on-year to 1,206 metric tons in the first quarter of 2025 as investment jumped 170%, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday.

Spot gold prices are up 26% so far this year and have hit multiple record highs as first-quarter investment demand hit the highest since the first quarter of 2022, when global markets were grappling with the immediate consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It's been a bumpy start to the year for global markets as trade turmoil, unpredictable US policy announcements, sustained geopolitical tensions and a return of recessionary fears have created a highly uncertain environment for investors," the WGC's senior markets analyst Louise Street said.

Driving up investment demand were massive inflows into physically backed gold exchange-traded funds and 14% growth in demand for gold bars in the first quarter, Reuters reported. That offset a 32% slump in demand for coins.

However, bar and coin investment in China rose 12% to 124.2 tons, the highest level since the second quarter of 2013's record high, said the WGC, an industry body whose members are global gold miners.

Amid high prices, global gold jewelry consumption, the key category of physical demand, fell 21% to 380.3 tons, the lowest level since the 2020 pandemic.

Central banks, another major source of gold demand, cut purchases by 21% to 243.7 tons in the first quarter, the WGC calculated, based on reported purchases and an estimate of unreported buying.

"While this level of demand was 21% lower year-on-year, it remains robust and in line with the quarterly average for the last three years of sustained, strong buying," it added.

For the full year, the WGC expects gold investment to continue gathering pace and central banks to repeat buying close to the range seen over the past three years due to elevated trade-related risks.