Saudi Arabia’s PIF indicators $ 15 billion mortgage

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Funding Fund, mentioned on Wednesday it had signed a $ 15 billion multi-currency revolving credit score facility with a bunch of 17 banks, which it mentioned offers it entry to extra capital deployed shortly when wanted.
Reuters reported final month that the PIF may elevate between $ 13 billion and $ 15 billion, in response to a supply. Sources mentioned the one-year facility could possibly be renewed 4 instances.
The fund, the driving drive behind Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s financial transformation plans for Saudi Arabia, manages a portfolio price $ 400 billion. It has stepped up its firepower with a number of sources of funding lately, together with a switch of $ 40 billion from central financial institution reserves final yr.
Sources mentioned the brand new mortgage could be used for basic enterprise functions. A revolving mortgage is a mortgage that may be drawn, repaid, and drawn once more in the course of the agreed mortgage interval.
PIF started growing financial institution debt in 2018 with an $ 11 billion facility, adopted in 2019 by a $ 10 billion mortgage which it then repaid final yr.
The brand new mortgage was granted by 17 banks in Asia, the Center East, Europe, the UK and the US, PIF mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday.
The banks have been BNP Paribas, Financial institution of America, Citi, Credit score Agricole, Credit score Suisse, Deutsche Financial institution, First Abu Dhabi Financial institution, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Natixis, SMBC, Société Générale and Normal Chartered, three sources mentioned.
The banks didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark or declined to remark.
PIF pursues a two-pronged technique, constructing a global portfolio of investments whereas investing domestically in initiatives that may assist scale back Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil.
Prince Mohammed, the architect of Saudi Imaginative and prescient 2030 which goals to wean the financial system off oil, mentioned the wealth fund plans to inject no less than 150 billion riyals ($ 40 billion) into the native financial system every. yr till 2025.
(1 USD = 3.7511 riyals)
Reporting by Yousef Saba, Saeed Azhar and Davide Barbuscia; Modifying by Alison Williams and Emelia Sithole-Matarise