Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is considering plans to accelerate debt sales or obtain bank loans as it hunts for new sources of cash to help pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trillion-dollar economic transformation project.
The Public Investment Fund could also line up equity offerings in its portfolio companies as part of the push, according to people familiar with the matter. The moves come as the fund’s cash reserves have dropped to $15 billion as of September — the lowest level since 2020, the earliest year for which data is available.
The PIF is the main entity tasked with driving Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program, an initiative that aims to diversify the oil-dependent economy. With the Saudi government predicting a deficit every year until 2026, there’s a sense of urgency at the fund to line up funding for its billions of dollars of spending commitments, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
It’s the latest sign that there are rising pressures forming in the kingdom’s effort to pull off the ambitious initiative that’s already been hampered by higher interest rates and a lack of significant foreign direct investment. Late last year, the government acknowledged for the first time that some projects could be delayed past 2030.
Representatives for the PIF declined to comment.
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