#Saudi Wealth Fund Joins #Qatar, #UAE Peers in Private Lending Rush - Bloomberg

Saudi Wealth Fund Joins Qatar, UAE Peers in Private Lending Rush - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s $400 billion Public Investment Fund became the latest sovereign investor to enter the growing market for direct lending.

The PIF, as it’s known, will anchor a $300 million Shariah-compliant fund started by Dubai-based private equity firm NBK Capital Partners, according to a statement on Tuesday. Yaser Moustafa, senior managing director at NBK Capital, said in an interview that the vehicle will also involve a “very prominent” U.S. family office and large institutional investors.

Private credit has emerged as a popular asset class in recent years, ballooning into an $850 billion market as it attracted interest from the world’s largest sovereign investors. NBK Capital, the private equity arm of Kuwait’s largest bank, said it completed the first closing of the credit fund, which will work with mid-sized Middle Eastern firms that are struggling to secure attractive financing.

“Because of some of the constraints on some of the regional banks and some of traditional funding sources, there’s a gap there for private credit to fit in,” Moustafa said. “That’s the gap we can fit.”