Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund says it has taken its first loan, a $11 billion borrowing from global banks as it tries to expand its investments.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund made the announcement in a statement on Monday.
“This is the first step in incorporating loans and debt instruments into PIF’s long-term funding strategy,” the fund’s managing director Yasir al-Rumayyan said in a statement. He added that the PIF would “develop into one of the most prominent users of banking services in the region”.
The PIF, which is to play a leading role in Saudi Arabia’s drive to develop non-oil industries, said it would use the loan for “general corporate purposes”.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, has talked about using the PIF to help diversify the economy of the Kingdom, which relies heavily on money made from its oil sales.
The PIF program outlines Saudi objectives in local and international investments that enable the diversification of the Kingdom’s sources of development and growth.
The three-year program (2018 until 2020) includes around 30 initiatives which set a goal to increase PIF's asset portfolio to SAR1.5 trillion ($400 billion) by 2020.
