PIF Focuses on Achieving ‘Impact’ for Saudi Economy Development

Abdullah Alsalem, PIF’S head of strategy and planning
Abdullah Alsalem, PIF’S head of strategy and planning
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PIF Focuses on Achieving ‘Impact’ for Saudi Economy Development

Abdullah Alsalem, PIF’S head of strategy and planning
Abdullah Alsalem, PIF’S head of strategy and planning

The Saudi Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) strategy focuses on achieving economic impact through operable sectors, said Abdullah Alsalem, PIF’s head of strategy and planning. He added that financial and economic impact analyses are currently being conducted in the Kingdom.

“Sectors are generally viewed from a financial point of view, and in particular from an economic point of view, (and we study) the addition that the sectors provide for the benefit of the Saudi economy,” Alsalem told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Mentioning the military industries sector, which is not growing significantly on a global scale but is vital to Saudi Arabia, Alsalem said: “It is one of the priorities of PIF’s strategy.”

Speaking about balancing between the economic impact and returns, he said: “If investment seeks development, it will achieve economic effects.”

“For example, when establishing a new company and owning contracts with local companies to build factories, this will lead to building jobs and increasing the domestic product, and that is where the impact of internal investments in the Kingdom rests,” explained Alsalem.

The PIF official further asserted that the Saudi private sector is a major PIF partner in developing the Kingdom’s economy.

“PIF sees the private sector as a strategic and important partner,” said Alsalem.

Moreover, Alsalem pointed to PIF having many projects nationwide in Saudi Arabia. These projects are also diverse.

“We have projects in real estate, information technology, and other sectors.”

“Last year, many contracts were announced with the private sector in several of PIF’s projects, such as the Red Sea project, Qiddiya, and other projects.”

Alsalem explained that many financial sector workers had doubted PIF’s ability to reach its goals, saying they were difficult to achieve and presented a significant challenge.

“Without ambitions and targets, there will be no hope, and without hope and dedication, you will not achieve anything, and therefore we were able to reach the targets,” affirmed Alsalem.



Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
TT

Gold Stabilizes after Selloff as Wider Markets Regain Balance

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, anchored by stability in European equities and US stock futures, a day after bullion's sharp decline amid a tech-led selloff.

Spot gold was steady at $2,742.37 per ounce by 12:05 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,746.70.

"After the drop yesterday, with gold likely being used to cover losses in other asset classes, stable equity markets in Europe are keeping gold stable too," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, Reuters reported.

Gold fell over 1% on Monday, marking its steepest drop since Dec. 18, as investors rushed to liquidate bullion to offset losses triggered by a sharp pullback in technology stocks, spurred by DeepSeek's low-cost, low-power AI model, casting doubt on the dominance of traditional AI giants.

Investors' focus is now set upon the Federal Reserve's first meeting this year, scheduled to start later in the day.

Policymakers are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the end of the two-day meeting.

However, US President Donald Trump saying he wants borrowing costs to be lowered cast some doubt over the independence of the Fed's decision.

"Market uncertainty should still support demand for gold over the coming months, we still look for higher prices later this year, driven also by further rate cuts by the Fed," Staunovo added.

Trump's policies, in addition to being perceived as inflationary, could potentially trigger trade wars, increasing safe-haven demand for bullion.

Gold prices look set for a record-breaking year due to heightened economic uncertainty and inflation concerns, a Reuters poll showed.

However, analysts downgraded their 2025 price forecasts for platinum and palladium as demand struggles to improve significantly.

Spot silver fell 0.1% to $30.17 per ounce, palladium was down by 0.1% to $959.75 and platinum also shed 0.1% to $946.05.