PIF exec Fahd Al Saif is the new Investment Minister, assuming the role following a Royal Decree out on Thursday. Al Saif replaces veteran technocrat Khalid Al Falih, who moves to a new role as minister of state.

Why it matters

Al Falih — former Energy Minister and ex-CEO of Aramco — spent the last four years doing the diplomatic work of putting Saudi Arabia on the global investment map, signing hundreds of MoUs and building the Invest Saudi brand.

Still, inflows have lagged: FDI stood at some USD 32 bn in 2024, well short of the USD 100 bn annual target set for 2030. The investment ministry is targeting USD 46 bn in inflows this year and USD 58 bn in 2027.

Why? The lag signals financial plumbing for complex FDI deals — think financing structures, public-private partnership models, credit guarantees — can still be sticky. Al Saif’s appointment suggests the government is banking on better financial structuring to de-risk entry for foreign capital.

From debt to FDI

Al Saif knows the sovereign balance sheet well. He founded the National Debt Management Center (NDMC) at the Finance Ministry, effectively building the Kingdom’s sovereign debt issuance program from scratch. He also knows the PIF’s checkbook: he was the PIF’s Head of Global Capital Finance and Head of Investment Strategy until Thursday.

“This is about execution. Fahd Al Saif is well known for the central role he has played in developing access to debt capital markets,” Gulf analyst at GlobalSource Partners Justin Alexander tells EnterpriseAM. The hope is that Al Saif will have the same impact on FDI, Alexander added.

New faces for a new phase

The move comes as the government and the PIF gear up to unveil their new five-year investment and diversification strategies in the upcoming weeks, set to focus on high-return sectors and pivot away from heavy construction projects. “There is a wider reshuffling of roles underway, partly generational change and perhaps partly to present fresh faces externally” as part of the refreshed diversification strategy, Alexander notes.

The state’s development bank is also getting a new boss: The decree also appointed Abdulaziz Al Arifi as governor of the National Development Fund (NDF) — the umbrella for the Kingdom’s specialized lending funds including SIDF, TDF, and more. Al Arif is ex-CEO of the private sector investment program Shareek, suggesting a push to align state development lending more aggressively with private sector needs.

Also in the shuffle:

  • Prince Rakan bin Salman — the Crown Prince’s youngest full brother — is the new Governor of Diriyah, replacing Prince Fahd bin Saad.
  • Prince Fawaz bin Sultan takes over as Governor of Taif;
  • Khalid Al Yousuf — previously head of the Board of Grievances — replaces Sheikh Saud Al Muajab as public prosecutor.
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