HSBC said to advise Pension Agency on sale of Riyadh financial hub

HSBC Saudi Arabia is advising the kingdom’s Public Pension Agency on the sale of its King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), a financial hub in Riyadh, Bloomberg reported citing unnamed sources.

Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is said to have offered to buy KAFD for less than the SAR 30 million invested by the pension agency, its sole owner.

No deal has been reached yet and the offer may change, the sources said. The wealth fund is being advised by JPMorgan Chase & Co., one person cited by Bloomberg said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the pension agency told Bloomberg that the sale would not affect its stakeholders.

The 73-building financial hub in Riyadh has struggled to find tenants and has suffered from delays and overspending. The project is about 70 percent built with a completion date in 2017.

Saudi Vision 2030 included a plan to turn KAFD into a special economic zone, with no-visa access to the hub directly from King Khalid International Airport.