PIF set to spend big on real estate over the next decade:The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and companies it invests in will invest SAR 4 tn in the kingdom’s booming real estate sector over the next decade, Argaam reported on Sunday, citing statements by the PIF Head of Real Estate and Infrastructure National Programs Management Ahmed Al Shanqiti on the sidelines of the Northern Border Investment Forum.

One key project included: The PIF official highlighted the Saudi Downtown project as one of the key real estate development projects for the fund. The project, announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in October 2022, aims to develop around 10 mn square meters in 12 cities around the kingdom. It comes as part of a push by the kingdom to diversify the economy and drive non-oil GDP growth.

Aiming big for local content spend: Al Shanqiti said the PIF eyes achieving 60% in local components by 2025 in a bid to drive growth for domestic businesses during the project’s construction and completion.

BACKGROUND- Earlier this year, the PIF announced its local content growth program — dubbed “Musahama.” The ambitious program aims to raise the share of local content spend in the sovereign wealth fund’s domestic portfolio to 60% by the end of 2025. It will pave the way for each PIF subsidiary to embed local content considerations in their design decisions and procurement policies.

The PIF has been tooling up for this: Roshn Real Estate Company — owned by the PIF — said it raised in September SAR 10 bn in funds for a building spree nationwide after lining up a SAR 6 bn revolving credit facility from three local banks earlier this year. It eyes building c. 400k houses, 1k schools and entire commercial and entertainment districts across the kingdom under diversification plans by the oil-rich kingdom.

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