RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s employment figures received a significant boost in 2022, thanks to the efforts of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which set up 25 companies and created 181,000 jobs during the year, latest official data has pointed out.
The 2022 annual report of the PIF highlighted the establishment of a diverse mix of companies, including Saudi Coffee Co. and Halal Products Development Co. The fund’s assets under management also saw substantial growth, increasing by 12.8 percent to $595 billion in 2022 from $528 billion in 2021.
PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said, “2022 was a year when the robust financial foundations established by PIF enabled tangible and rapid progress. As the economy continued to recover from the disruptions of recent years, PIF has been proactive in driving transformational change throughout the Kingdom.”
He further emphasized the importance of the fund’s financial strength, which enabled it to identify and capitalize on key investment opportunities for sustainable growth in Saudi Arabia. The sovereign fund has ambitious goals and aims to increase its assets under management to SAR4 trillion by 2025.
According to the report, Saudi Equity Holdings constituted 32 percent of the fund’s total assets under management by the end of 2022. Additionally, the fund made international investments worth $136.53 billion and had local assets amounting to $455.85 billion.
The report underlined the crucial role played by PIF in connecting Saudi companies from various sectors with the strategic priorities of the Kingdom, positioning the fund as a catalyst for positive change and a key driver for the realization of Vision 2030.
Notably, the PIF made a substantial investment in NEOM, the future megacity currently under development in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern Tabuk province, injecting $6.79 billion into the project until 2022.
Al-Rumayyan said the fund remains keen to collaborate with the private sector as an investor and partner, recognizing it as a strategic and important contributor to the thriving economy of Saudi Arabia.
Looking ahead, the fund has ambitious plans to create as many as 1.8 million job opportunities in the coming years, focusing not only on quantity but also on the quality of these job opportunities, he added.