BlackRock: Our Investments in Saudi Arabia Are Doubling, the $5 Bln from PIF Is Only the Beginning

BlackRock is reinforcing its long-term investment strategy in Saudi Arabia, viewing the Kingdom as a cornerstone of its regional growth plans. Kashif Riaz, Managing Director for the Middle East and head of the BlackRock Riyadh Investment Management Platform, said the company’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) marks the beginning of a significant expansion in scale and scope.

The first five billion euros are only the beginning, he told Asharq Al-Awsat, referring to the landmark investment that established a multi-asset platform in the Saudi capital.

The five-billion-euro commitment stems from the strategic alliance announced last year between BlackRock and PIF.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, which gathered leading figures from global finance and industry last week, Riaz said the collaboration is designed to grow exponentially as Saudi Arabia’s capital markets deepen and diversify.

During the same event, Larry Fink, BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO, noted that the strong global interest in Saudi opportunities reflects international confidence in the Kingdom’s economic reforms and transformation, which have positioned it among the top emerging destinations for foreign investment.

Riaz explained that BlackRock Riyadh has already begun managing equity funds focused on Saudi and Gulf markets, with strategies spanning both active and index-based portfolios.

The company has also built specialized teams for fixed income and sukuk, and recently concluded a major infrastructure deal with Saudi Aramco. The $11 billion (SR41 billion) transaction, finalized during the FII conference, involves developing the Jafurah gas field in partnership with a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, a BlackRock subsidiary.

He said the Riyadh platform was created to connect local and international investors with opportunities in the Saudi economy. The country’s financial landscape, he noted, is undergoing rapid transformation as family offices and digital investment platforms emerge as new engines of growth alongside sovereign and pension funds.

The company’s objective is to make BlackRock funds accessible to a wide range of investors – institutional and individual – through digital channels and wealth management networks, he added.

As part of its technological innovation, BlackRock has launched an AI-driven investment fund that uses artificial intelligence and data science to analyze stocks listed on the Tadawul exchange. The system integrates financial data, corporate reports, and social media activity to generate a data-backed view of each company.

Riaz said this method reflects BlackRock’s long-established systematic investment approach, which has been refined over decades and adapted to Saudi Arabia’s unique market dynamics.

He also outlined a project being developed with the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) to establish a secondary mortgage market, enabling banks to securitize housing loans into asset-backed securities.

He said progress is well under way, following a pilot issuance in August conducted with the Saudi Central Bank and the housing sector. According to him, the new market will help banks expand lending for home ownership, infrastructure, and new developments, while offering international investors safe, well-regulated financial products.

Looking ahead, Riaz identified housing, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, data centers, transport, and logistics as the key sectors driving BlackRock’s strategy in Saudi Arabia over the coming decade.

He said the firm’s focus has shifted more toward infrastructure investment than private equity, supported by a specialized fund that targets major strategic projects across the Gulf region. The Jafurah partnership, he noted, is one example of this broader regional vision.

BlackRock’s infrastructure portfolio now spans digital infrastructure, renewable energy, gas, water-related industries, and logistics. Globally, the firm holds stakes in major airports, including London Gatwick and several in Malaysia, and has formed partnerships in port operations such as King Abdullah Port on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.

Beyond deploying capital, Riaz said BlackRock’s strategy in the Kingdom centers on developing local talent and expertise. The company currently employs about 40 people in Saudi Arabia, 80 percent of them nationals.

It has also launched a graduate hiring program that recruits Saudi university students domestically and abroad, several of whom now hold leadership positions. Some Saudi professionals have even returned from BlackRock’s New York offices to Riyadh to help expand the firm’s local capabilities.

BlackRock was the first major global asset manager to establish a regional headquarters in Riyadh. Its initiatives align closely with Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify the economy, attract foreign investment, and stimulate non-oil sectors.