Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced on Thursday the launch of Alat - a Public Investment Fund company – with the aim to transform Saudi Arabia into a global hub for sustainable technology manufacturing that focuses on advanced technologies and electronics.

In this regard, experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new entity would explore new opportunities in modern sectors, in addition to supporting national companies and enabling them to launch investments in advanced technologies and industries.

Professor of Economics at the University of Jeddah, Dr. Salem Bajaja, stressed that Saudi Arabia would become a pioneer in the manufacture of electronics, by providing sustainable industrial solutions that rely on clean energy sources and meet the future needs of the sector.

Bajaja added that the Alat Company would be able to create more job opportunities in the local market, which would reduce the unemployment rate, pointing that the Kingdom enjoyed all the success ingredients to develop the advanced technologies and electronics sector.

He also emphasized that Alat would in turn explore untapped opportunities in this promising field to reach its desired goals.

Alat will work on manufacturing products that serve local and international markets within seven key strategic business units: advanced industries, semiconductors, smart appliances, smart health, smart devices, smart buildings, and next generation infrastructure.

The company, chaired by the crown prince, aims to enhance the capabilities of the Saudi technology sector, increase its contribution to local content, and raise the country’s attractiveness and its ability to create investment opportunities.

According to Bajaja, the launching of the new company keeps pace with the global evolution of Information Technology, which would contribute to transforming Saudi Arabia into a leader in electronics and open new horizons for the private sector and increase its contribution to the country’s GDP.

For his part, Economic Expert Ahmed al-Jubeir said: “It is important to rely on clean energy in the work of the new company, which focuses on modern industries, with the aim to meet the Kingdom’s directions in the next stage in creating promising investment opportunities.”

Al-Jubeir noted that Alat will have a positive impact on the national economy and will stimulate the private sector to invest in new industries and forge partnerships with the PIF.

Moreover, the new products that will be manufactured through Alat will raise the competition levels and will reflect on the prices in the local market, he said, noting that the new company will also help generate new job opportunities and develop human capabilities in these fields.

Alat will focus on manufacturing in more than 30 categories that serve vital sectors, mainly robotic systems, communication, advanced computers, digital entertainment products, and advanced heavy equipment used in construction, building and mining.

The new company aims to create 39,000 direct jobs in Saudi Arabia by 2030, and achieve a direct non-oil GDP contribution of $9.3 billion by the same year.

Source: AL-Awsat

The private credit fund Ruya Private Capital I LP, run by Ruya Partners, has received a $10 million investment from Saudi Venture Capital (SVC).

Founded in 2020 by Omar Al Yawer, Mirza Beg and Rashid Siddiqi, Ruya Partners is an independent private credit firm that provides funding solutions to private sector companies in developing markets.

The fund will focus on providing capital solutions in the form of private debt instruments to SMEs, with a concentration on mid-market companies, including late-stage venture capital-backed businesses in Saudi Arabia and the region.

Press release:

Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) announced its investment of $10 million in "Ruya Private Capital I LP," a private credit fund managed by Ruya Partners.

The fund will focus on providing capital solutions in the form of private debt instruments to SMEs, with a concentration on mid-market companies, including late-stage venture capital-backed businesses, in Saudi Arabia and the region.

The subscription agreement was signed by Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, and Omar Al Yawer, Partner at Ruya Partners.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Nora Alsarhan, Chief Investment Officer, and Haifa Bahaian, Chief Legal Officer at SVC, as well as Mirza Beg and Rashid Siddiqi, Founding Partners at Ruya Partners.

Dr. Koshak commented: "The investment in the private credit fund managed by Ruya Partners is part of SVC's Investment in Funds Program. The investment also comes as a result of the increasing demand for venture debt and private debt by Saudi startups and SMEs and to implement SVC's strategy related to the launch of the "Investment in Venture Debt Funds and Private Debt Funds" product to fill financing gaps in the ecosystem".

"We are honored to have received this commitment of capital and trust from SVC and look forward to a successful partnership together," stated Omar Al Yawer.

The Founding Partners Mirza Beg and Rashid Siddiqi added: "We firmly believe that offering private credit capital solutions to companies in a manner which is non-dilutive to shareholders will serve as a powerful catalyst for their future growth and should contribute towards the continued expansion and development of the SME ecosystem."

SVC is a government investment company established in 2018 and is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one of the developmental banks affiliated with the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO by investing $2 billion through investment in funds and co-investment in startups. SVC invested in 43 funds that have invested in 700+ companies.

Source: Wamda

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) said its latest green bond issuance, which raised $5.5 billion was oversubscribed more than six times with books exceeding $33 billion.

It was issued in three tranches, comprising of $1.75 billion with seven-year tenure, $2 billion with 12-year tenure and $1.75 billion with a 30-year tenure, PIF said in a statement on Friday.

The sovereign wealth fund did not disclose the pricing of the bonds. Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that the seven-year paper was priced at 115 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries (UST), the 12-year at 145 bps over UST and the 30-year bonds at 185 bps over UST.

The bond was sold to a wide range of institutional investors globally, including Asia, PIF said.

Fahad AlSaif, Head of Global Capital Finance Division at PIF, said: "Strong demand from international institutional investors for this second issuance is a testament to the ongoing success of PIF’s capital raising strategy, its credit profile and financial strength.”

source: Zawya

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco will invest in the development of a major integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Northeast China.

Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company (HAPCO), a joint venture between Aramco, North Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group, will develop the liquids-to-chemicals complex, according to a statement from the oil giant.

The facility will be built in the city of Panjin, in China’s Liaoning Province and is expected to be operational in 2024.

Aramco will supply up to 210,000 barrels per day of crude oil feedstock to the complex. The greenfield project will include 300,000 bdp refinery capacity and petrochemical units.

Mohammed Al Qahtani, Aramco Senior Vice-President of Downstream, said: “Continued energy security remains a shared priority and this partnership represents another major milestone in our journey together, supporting China’s vision to create a modern economy grounded in innovation, ambition and sustainability. It will further support Aramco’s broader objective of becoming a global leader in liquids-to-chemicals.”

The decision, which is subject to finalization of transaction documentation, regulatory approvals and closing conditions, follows the establishment of HAPCO in December 2019 between the three partners.

Source: Zawya