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Al-Rumayyan: PIF Investments in Local Content Exceed $157 Billion

Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Al-Rumayyan: PIF Investments in Local Content Exceed $157 Billion

Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Yasir Al-Rumayyan speaks to the audience in the opening speech of the Public Investment Fund Private Sector Forum (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced that spending by the sovereign fund’s programs, initiatives, and companies on local content reached 591 billion riyals ($157 billion) between 2020 and 2024.

He added that the fund’s private sector platform has created more than 190 investment opportunities worth over 40 billion riyals ($10 billion).

Speaking at the opening of the PIF Private Sector Forum on Monday in Riyadh, Al-Rumayyan said the fund is working closely with the private sector to deepen the impact of previous achievements and build an integrated economic system that drives sustainable growth through a comprehensive investment cycle methodology.

He described the forum as the largest platform of its kind for seizing partnership and collaboration opportunities with the private sector, highlighting the fund’s success in turning discussions into tangible projects.

Since 2023, the forum has attracted 25,000 participants from both public and private sectors and has witnessed the signing of over 140 agreements worth more than 15 billion riyals, he pointed out.

Al-Rumayyan emphasized that the meeting comes at a pivotal stage of the Kingdom’s economy, where competitiveness will reach higher levels, sectors and value chains will mature, and ambitions will be raised.

PIF Private Sector Forum aims to support the fund’s strategic initiative to engage the private sector, showcase commercial opportunities across PIF and its portfolio companies, highlight potential prospects for investors and suppliers, and enhance cooperation to strengthen the local economy.

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Business

AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies Highlights Policies to Strengthen Resilience, Support Growth

The second AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies was held in AlUla on February 8–9 - SPA
The second AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies was held in AlUla on February 8–9 - SPA
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AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies Highlights Policies to Strengthen Resilience, Support Growth

The second AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies was held in AlUla on February 8–9 - SPA
The second AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies was held in AlUla on February 8–9 - SPA

At the conclusion of the second AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, held in AlUla on February 8–9 and co-organized by the Saudi Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund, Minister of Finance Mohammed Aljadaan and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva issued a joint statement.

The statement expressed appreciation to emerging-market policymakers, leading global academics, and heads of regional and international financial institutions for convening once again in AlUla to discuss the key challenges facing emerging-market economies and the policies needed to strengthen resilience and support growth, SPA reported.

It noted that the second conference reaffirmed the value of a dedicated global forum focused on the shared challenges, opportunities, and aspirations of emerging market economies.

Over the two days, discussions centered on how emerging markets can navigate a global environment characterized by persistent uncertainty, geopolitical shifts, evolving trade patterns, and rapid technological change.

These developments, the statement said, underscore the urgency of strengthening policy frameworks and institutions to bolster resilience and seize opportunities ahead.

Several key messages emerged. First, sound macroeconomic and financial policies—underpinned by strong institutions and effective governance—remain the cornerstone of resilience in an increasingly shock-prone world. Experiences across many emerging markets demonstrate that credible policy frameworks and institutional upgrades have helped deliver better inflation outcomes, maintain financial stability, and preserve market access, even amid heightened uncertainty.

Second, having achieved greater stability, emerging markets now face the challenge of advancing to a new phase of reforms that deliver higher, more sustainable, and more job-rich growth. Unlocking private-sector potential will be central to this effort, including by deepening financial markets, reducing barriers to entrepreneurship and investment, and harnessing artificial intelligence through investments in digital infrastructure and skills development to help young people thrive in a changing global labor market.

Third, amid shifting trade and investment patterns, deeper intra-regional and inter-regional integration presents significant opportunities. Strengthening trade and regional cooperation remains critical as emerging markets adapt to the evolving global economic landscape.

According to SPA, the statement concluded by welcoming the commitment shown by emerging market economies to work together, learn from one another, and act decisively to address global challenges, and by expressing anticipation of continuing these discussions and building on the momentum at future editions of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies.

Business

Saudi EXIM Bank Signs Trilateral MoU with Poland’s BGK and KUKE

The MoU enhances collaboration among the three parties in export support, financing, and insurance - SPA
The MoU enhances collaboration among the three parties in export support, financing, and insurance - SPA
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Saudi EXIM Bank Signs Trilateral MoU with Poland’s BGK and KUKE

The MoU enhances collaboration among the three parties in export support, financing, and insurance - SPA
The MoU enhances collaboration among the three parties in export support, financing, and insurance - SPA

Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM Bank) has signed a memorandum of understanding with two Polish financial institutions, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and Polish export credit agency (KUKE), strengthening cooperation in export support, financing, and insurance, and expanding trade and investment between Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Poland.

According to a press release issued by the Saudi EXIM Bank today, the agreement was signed by Saudi EXIM Bank Deputy CEO Dr. Naif bin Abdulrahman Al-Shammari, Member of the Board of BGK Mateusz Szczurek and CEO and President of the Board of KUKE Janusz Władyczak during the Saudi-Polish Investment Forum, SPA reported.

The MoU enhances collaboration among the three parties in export support, financing, and insurance, including export-related co-financing, guarantees, insurance, and reinsurance. It also promotes the exchange of information and expertise relating to export credit policies and practices, in addition to organizing meetings, workshops, training programs, and capacity-building initiatives.

The release added that the agreement enables Saudi and Polish companies to explore joint business and project opportunities of mutual interest, while facilitating access to non-oil export markets for both countries through cooperation among export finance and guarantee institutions.

On this occasion, Al-Shammari stated: “This memorandum comes as an extension of Saudi EXIM’s efforts to build high-quality partnerships with global export finance and credit insurance institutions, and to establish a cooperation framework that enables exporters and buyers in Saudi Arabia and Poland to access new markets. Through this cooperation, we look forward to enhancing the flow of mutual trade and investment and opening broader horizons for companies to benefit from the opportunities available in both countries.”

The signing of this MoU aligns with Saudi EXIM Bank's strategy to build effective partnerships with export finance and credit guarantee institutions worldwide, supporting the growth and competitiveness of Saudi non-oil exports in regional and global markets, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.

Business

Oil Gains as Traders Weigh Supply Risks Linked to US–Iran Tensions

A pumpjack, used to help lift oil from a well, in the Permian basin near Midland, Texas, US, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Arathy Somasekhar/File Photo
A pumpjack, used to help lift oil from a well, in the Permian basin near Midland, Texas, US, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Arathy Somasekhar/File Photo
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Oil Gains as Traders Weigh Supply Risks Linked to US–Iran Tensions

A pumpjack, used to help lift oil from a well, in the Permian basin near Midland, Texas, US, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Arathy Somasekhar/File Photo
A pumpjack, used to help lift oil from a well, in the Permian basin near Midland, Texas, US, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Arathy Somasekhar/File Photo

Oil prices edged up on Tuesday as traders gauged the potential for supply disruptions after US guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz kept attention squarely on tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Brent crude oil futures were up 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $69.41 a barrel by 1136 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $64.61.

"The market is still focused on the tensions between Iran and the US," said Tamas Varga, an oil analyst at brokerage PVM.

"But unless there are concrete signs of supply disruptions, prices will likely start going lower," he said. "The market is range-bound, it's an oversupplied market against geopolitics."

Prices rose more than 1% on Monday, when the US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration advised US-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to verbally decline Iranian forces' permission to board if asked.

About a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, making any escalation in the area a major risk to global oil supplies.

Iran and fellow OPEC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.

The guidance was issued despite Iran's top diplomat saying last week that Oman-mediated nuclear talks with the US were off to a "good start" and set to continue.

Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note on Tuesday that prices were supported by geopolitics, with a pickup in oil on vessels as buyers seek to secure more oil amid heightened uncertainty.

"While talks in Oman produced a cautiously positive tone, lingering uncertainty over potential escalation, sanctions tightening, or supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz has kept a modest risk premium intact," said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG.

Meanwhile, the European Union has proposed extending its sanctions against Russia to include ports in Georgia and Indonesia that handle Russian oil, the first time the bloc would target ports in third countries, according to a proposal document seen by Reuters.

The move is part of efforts to tighten sanctions on Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow, over the war in Ukraine.

Indian Oil Corp bought six million barrels of crude from West Africa and the Middle East, traders said, as India steered clear of Russian oil in New Delhi's push for a trade deal with Washington, which the countries hope to conclude in March.