• Saudi PIF and Hong Kong’s HKMA plan a USD 1B fund targeting manufacturing, renewables, fintech, and healthcare investments in Saudi.
• The fund aims to support localization of Hong Kong-connected companies and foster foreign direct investments via Hong Kong into Saudi markets.
• Cooperation expands beyond finance, with Saudi firms planning Hong Kong roadshows to secure partners and services for infrastructure projects.

HKMA

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) signed a deal to look into jointly anchoring a new investment fund with a target size of USD 1 billion. 

The new fund aims to explore investment in manufacturing, renewables, financial technology, and healthcare. It also seeks to support the localization of companies in Saudi Arabia that are connected to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay area.

The initiative between the two entities aims to contribute to the development of non-oil economic sectors in Saudi Arabia.

Investment Fund

The deal was signed during the eighth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh. The deal seeks to foster foreign direct investments via Hong Kong. It also aims to provide a platform for companies to internationalize their businesses and access to investment opportunities in Saudi.

In recent years, the Hong Kong government has sought to deepen cross-border cooperation with Middle Eastern countries. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has been working to diversify its economy to reduce oil dependency.

The cooperation between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia has thus extended from the financial sector to industrial and commercial fields. Furthermore, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan disclosed that a Saudi development company will hold a roadshow in Hong Kong next month. With this, it seeks to forge partnerships and professional service providers to support its infrastructure construction.

The financial secretary also adds that recently Hong Kong’s stock exchange saw its first listing of a Middle Eastern company. He further adds that Hong Kong’s IPO has reached USD 28 billion as of October marking a revival of the market.