Saudi Fund’s $8 Billion Hit Spotlights Giga-Project Struggles
The Public Investment Fund tower, center, in the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Photographer: Maya Siddiqui/BloombergSaudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund cut the value of major projects on its books by $8 billion last year, highlighting the challenges facing the kingdom as it races to diversify away from oil.
The Public Investment Fund valued its giga-projects that include the futuristic city Neom and tourism ventures like Red Sea Global at 241 billion riyals ($64.2 billion) as of end-2024, over 12% lower than the previous year. Annualized returns since 2017 fell to 7.2% from 8.7% a year earlier.