Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s US$100 bil foreign investment quest falters
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Saudi Arabia's attempt to attract foreign investment for its Vision 2030 economic transformation plan is facing challenges. The country aims to achieve $100 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) annually by 2030, but preliminary data for 2023 shows FDI below target at $19 billion. Foreign investors remain cautious due to unclear and untested laws governing contracts and investment in Saudi Arabia. The government is considering self-funding a larger portion of its economic remake and has started cutting back on megaprojects. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has provided financial support to companies like Lucid Group Inc, which is increasingly relying on Saudi money to stay in business. The PIF, which is the top shareholder of Lucid, has already invested $5.4 billion in the company. The government's reliance on oil riches to entice firms and fund its diversification plans is evident, as it recently gave the PIF an additional $164 billion stake in Saudi Aramco. However, the PIF is feeling the pinch, with just $15 billion in cash reserves as of September. The kingdom may advocate longer production curbs by OPEC+ to sustain oil prices, but prices remain below what is needed to balance the budget and fund the grand ambitions of Crown Prince Mohammed Salman.

#SaudiArabia #ForeignInvestment #Vision2030 #PublicInvestmentFund #LucidGroupInc #Oil #Economy

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