Saudi PIF Strengthens Expansion Strategy With Key Appointments

Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
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Saudi PIF Strengthens Expansion Strategy With Key Appointments

Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a string of new appointments in its executive team under the framework of an expansion strategy to achieve its goals, as one of the main engines of the Kingdom’s economy.

The appointments announced Tuesday included Yazeed al-Humied, as new Head of the Fund’s Local Holdings Investments and Rashed Sharif, as Managing Director and CEO of the merged entity of NCB Capital and Samba Capital, a key strategic PIF portfolio company.

Leading Saudi financier, Rania Nashar was appointed as Senior Advisor to PIF Governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan. In addition, Fahad Alsaif was named as the new Head of Corporate Finance, Alireza Zaimi appointed to the role of Special Advisor to Rumayyan, and Saad al-Kroud as acting PIF Chief of Staff.

The Fund said that the new appointments aim to support and bolster its ambitious strategy by enhancing the expertise of its executive team.

It described Nashar as a “prominent name in the banking world”, adding that she is the first woman to lead a banking Group in Saudi Arabia as CEO of Samba Financial Group.

She brings more than 20 years of professional experience in the banking industry and assumed various roles in different divisions within Samba, and is a member of various boards including the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Fahad al-Saif was formerly the CEO of the National Debt Management Center and advisor to the Minister of Finance. He and brings more than 20 years of corporate and investment banking leadership experience to the role.

He will become a member of PIF’s Management Committee.

The Fund has an executive management team with extensive experience in various fields, and with the growth of its diversified local and international investment activities, bolstering these experiences will support efforts to achieve the ambitious goals.

“I would like to welcome Rania and Fahad to PIF. As we continue PIFs ambitious strategy they will bring extensive global capital finance and banking experiences to their positions, which will play an integral role in helping accelerate PIF’s growth trajectory,” said Rumayyan.

He also congratulated and thanked “Yazeed, Rashed, Alireza, and Saad for the significant contributions they have made to PIF, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of them in their new roles.”

The governor indicated that these appointments are critical to ensuring PIF continues to achieve its ambitious growth trajectory and important mandate on behalf of the people of Saudi Arabia.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is one of the world’s largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds. It is the main engine helping to drive Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation as part of the country’s Vision 2030.

Last week, PIF surpassed the 1,000-employee mark, expanding from an initial 40 employees in 2016.

The Fund has also grown to over $347 billion AUM and has invested a total of $82.9 billion in the Saudi economy during the past four years while contributing to the creation of more than 190,000 new jobs in the country.



Turkish Inflation Jumps to 4.18% m/m in April, Exceeding Forecasts

Passers-by walk at Galata bridge on a rainy spring day in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
Passers-by walk at Galata bridge on a rainy spring day in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
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Turkish Inflation Jumps to 4.18% m/m in April, Exceeding Forecasts

Passers-by walk at Galata bridge on a rainy spring day in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)
Passers-by walk at Galata bridge on a rainy spring day in Istanbul, Türkiye, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP)

Turkish consumer price inflation surged to 4.18% month-on-month in April, while the annual figure climbed to 32.37%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Monday, with both measures exceeding economists' forecasts.

In a Reuters poll, monthly inflation was forecast to be 3.28%, with the annual rate seen at 31.25%, as the Iran war drives ‌a sharp ‌rise in fuel prices and ‌expectations ⁠of a slower-than-anticipated disinflation ⁠trend.

The biggest monthly price rises in April were shown by the clothing and footwear sector, with 8.94% inflation, and the housing sector at 7.99%, while key transport sector prices were up 4.29% and ⁠food and drinks sector prices ‌were up 3.7%.

In ‌March, consumer price inflation dipped to 1.94% month-on-month, ‌while the annual figure fell to ‌30.87%, both figures below forecasts.

The data also showed the domestic producer index rose 3.17% month-on-month in April for an annual increase of 28.59%.

The ‌central bank flagged rising inflation risks in its monetary policy committee ⁠statement ⁠last month, when it kept main interest rates steady, saying it was closely monitoring fallout from the Iran war and potential second-round effects.

In February, Türkiye's central bank raised its year-end inflation forecast range by two percentage points to 15–21%, while keeping its interim 16% target unchanged, despite market doubts over whether the disinflation trend seen through much of 2025 remains on track.


Seoul, Taipei Hit Records as Asian Stocks Track Wall St Tech Rally

Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP)
Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP)
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Seoul, Taipei Hit Records as Asian Stocks Track Wall St Tech Rally

Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP)
Dealers watch computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP)

Seoul and Taipei hit record highs Monday as tech firms led a rally across most Asian markets, tracking a healthy day on Wall Street fueled by more strong earnings.

Investors were also cheered by news that Iran had submitted fresh proposals to end its war with the United States and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

While the Middle East crisis continued to rumble along, with the waterway still effectively choked off, dealers turned their focus on the corporate world as they jumped back into the AI trade that has propelled several markets to record highs.

Forecast-beating reports from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung have reawakened interest in the artificial intelligence sector after the market tumult caused by the US-Israel strikes on Iran at the end of February.

Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to report earnings growth of 27.1 percent, the highest rate in more than four years, according to Factset.

Investors have been playing a waiting game since a US-Iran ceasefire was agreed at the start of April, with just one round of talks taking place that came to nothing.

In the meantime, the United States maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran is keeping the strait -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas usually passes -- closed.

Optimism was given a boost Friday after an Iranian report that Tehran had delivered the text of a new proposal to mediator Pakistan the night before.

The offer was said by the Tasnim News Agency as calling for a complete end to the conflict within 30 days along with guarantees against renewed strikes.

It also reiterated previous demands that include the withdrawal of US forces from near Iran, the blockade to be lifted and sanctions removed.

Donald Trump said Sunday that "very positive discussions" were underway and that US forces will soon start escorting ships out of the Strait of Hormuz in a "humanitarian gesture" dubbed "Project Freedom".

In a post on Truth Social, the US president said many of the marooned ships "were running low on food", but offered few details on how the mission would work.

US Central Command said on X that its forces would begin supporting Project Freedom with guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms and 15,000 service members.

However, a senior Iranian official warned Monday that Tehran would consider any US attempt to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz a breach of the ongoing ceasefire.

Oil prices edged up Monday after dropping as much as three percent Friday.

"Whether this will lead to sustained weakness in oil remains to be seen," wrote Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com.

"In my view, as long as the Strait of Hormuz situation remains unresolved, these types of headlines are likely to provide only temporary pressure on prices rather than drive a prolonged move lower."

Equities started the month on a broadly positive note, following all-time highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in New York on Friday.

Seoul surged more than five percent and Taipei jumped more than four percent to hit fresh records.

South Korean chip giant SK hynix was the standout, piling on 12.5 percent, while rival Samsung was up more than five percent. Taiwanese counterpart TSMC was 6.6 percent up.

Hong Kong was lifted by a surge in Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, while Mumbai, Singapore, Manila, Wellington and Jakarta were also up.

Paris fell at the open and Frankfurt rose.

Tokyo, Shanghai and London were closed for holidays.

However, Chris Weston at Pepperstone said: "After a strong April for risk assets, we need to remain open-minded about what May will bring.

"This week should provide early signals, but with risk assets pricing in a lot of good news, and rightly so, the time for that to be validated may now be here."

On currency markets, the yen was holding its own against the dollar after a rally on Thursday was said to have come on the back of Japanese intervention.

Officials were said to have spent at least $32 billion in the foreign exchange market, according to multiple reports, in its first such move to prop up the yen since 2024.


Barclays Becomes Latest Brokerage to Bet on No Fed Rate Cuts in 2026

A person walks past a Barclays bank branch in central London, Britain, 28 April 2026. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
A person walks past a Barclays bank branch in central London, Britain, 28 April 2026. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
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Barclays Becomes Latest Brokerage to Bet on No Fed Rate Cuts in 2026

A person walks past a Barclays bank branch in central London, Britain, 28 April 2026. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN
A person walks past a Barclays bank branch in central London, Britain, 28 April 2026. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN

Barclays on Monday joined a growing list of brokerages to bet on no policy easing from the US Federal Reserve this year, citing prolonged high energy prices linked to the Iran war that are likely to keep inflation elevated.

The British brokerage had previously forecast a 25-basis-point rate cut in September 2026. It also retained its forecast of a quarter point reduction in March 2027.

Global brokerages have steadily pulled back ⁠from early-year expectations ⁠of two US interest rate cuts in 2026, with forecasts sharply split between some easing and no cuts at all this year, due to war-related inflation risks that are making policymakers cautious.

Last week, the Federal Reserve left interest rates ⁠unchanged in its most divided decision since 1992, on deepening concerns about higher energy prices percolating through the economy.

US inflation remains well above the Fed's 2% target, as the ongoing Middle East conflict disrupts global oil supplies.

"We expect the higher and more prolonged oil price trajectory to boost both headline and core PCE inflation measures, and to weigh somewhat on growth," analysts at Barclays ⁠said in ⁠a note, according to Reuters.

"Conversely, if the unemployment rate were to rise suddenly...we would expect the FOMC to cut more rapidly and aggressively."

The brokerage also said higher energy prices will hurt consumer spending, but this will be partly offset by stronger business investment, driven by energy exploration and AI-related spending.

Traders are now pricing in a roughly 78.7% probability of no change in interest rates by year-end, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.