#Saudi Wealth Fund PIF Edges Closer to Green Bond With Moody’s Rating - Bloomberg

Saudi Wealth Fund PIF Edges Closer to Green Bond With Moody’s Rating - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has received the fifth-highest credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service ahead of its plans to tap the international bond market for the first time.

The A1 rating for the $500 billion Public Investment Fund, which matches the agency’s sovereign rating on Saudi Arabia, “reflects its standalone creditworthiness” as well as its “very high level of interdependence” with the government and likelihood that the state would provide it with support if needed, Moody’s said in a statement on Monday.

While the fund has “indirect” exposure to environmental and social risks, its “portfolio is quite diversified and many of the sectors where PIF invests have low exposure to environmental and social risks,” Moody’s said.

The first-time rating is a further indication that the wealth fund is closing in on plans to sell its debut green bond as it looks to increase the role that environmental, social and governance principles play in its investments. Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said in September that the PIF was working on plans to issue a so-called green bond.