Saudi PIF eyeing investments in China, United States: Al-Rumayyan

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is eyeing international investments in China and the United States, its managing director said.

“We’re opening up in New York and London, San Francisco. Now I’m thinking seriously even to accelerate the Asia office because we see a lot of potential over there,” Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, managing director at Public Investment Fund (PIF), told CNBC during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

“This is the first time for me to go out and meet asset managers, companies, Chinese entrepreneurs, and they are really very impressive,” Al-Rumayyan said, speaking on the topic of China.

But the fund’s primary aim remains the US, he noted.

“The US is our No. 1 target of investments. We have deployed directly and indirectly more than $50 billion in the past two years in the US. So that’s a big demonstration to the interest that we have here,” Al-Rumayyan added.

The PIF agreed to partner with investment company Blackstone in 2017 for a new venture designed to invest more than $100 billion in US infrastructure assets. It has also invested billions in Silicon Valley tech companies through Softbank’s Vision Fund, and in 2016 invested in Uber $3.5 billion.

“We are considering the rest of Asia, we’re considering Europe to some extent, Africa is a good target for us,” the managing director said.