Saudi Arabia’s intricate balance between local projects and global investments is getting increasing interest from the foreign press, as Bloomberg reports some bankers reassess the Kingdom’s foreign investments appeal. The caution contrasts with previous years when top global financiers frequently visited Riyadh, the business information service argued.

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The reported reassessment follows USD tns of pledged Gulf investments to the US during US President Donald Trump’s tour of the region, during which the Kingdom announced large-scale investment commitments, initially USD 300 bn and upped later to USD 1 tn.

Bloomberg spoke to some skeptics over Saudi Arabia’s ability to finance its large investment pledge, seeing it as aspirational or prone to cutbacks. Karen Young of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy saw the Saudi pledge as harder to meet, given its domestic priorities to wean off oil and fund Vision 2030.

Our neighbors committed to larger tickets: Qatar (USD 1.2 tn) and the UAE (USD 1.4 tn) made proportionally larger US commitments than Saudi Arabia, leveraging greater fiscal headroom from smaller populations and lower domestic spending needs.

“The Emiratis and Qataris can realistically offer US and global businesses more compelling incentives over a longer timeframe,” Robert Mogielnicki from the Arab Gulf States Institute told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, “the Saudi government must carefully weigh the concerns and needs of local citizens against foreign interests,” he added.

Saudi has more to juggle: Unlike our Gulf peers who invest surplus capital abroad, Saudi Arabia needs foreign capital for its own spending on domestic projects and local absorption capacity, said Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security.

Bloomberg highlighted the Kingdom’s increasing bond issuance as it tries to manage its budget deficit, having raised over USD 14 bn this year — excluding PIF and Aramco sales. Bankers in Saudi Arabia are now focusing more on arranging bonds and loans — with the kingdom becoming the top emerging market sovereign bond issuer — rather than advising on outbound M&A

While local listings and PIF M&A keep investment bankers active, diversification plans increasingly prioritize partnerships with asset managers to develop its domestic financial markets rather than to fund global ventures, Bloomberg argued.

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