Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to establish company

The Public Investment Fund is developing a new company to act as its investment arm in Saudi Arabia’s growing entertainment sector.
The company, which will have an initial capitalization of SR10 billion ($2.67 billion), will play an active investment role in various areas of the entertainment sector, and seek to attract strategic partnerships to build the eco-system within the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.
The company will expand the scope and variety of entertainment offerings that conform to the latest global standards.
“The company’s efforts will enable the development of and provide incentives for the entertainment sector, as well as building local capabilities within the Kingdom,” SPA said.
“The company’s establishment is consistent with the ambitions within Vision 2030 to increase the Kingdom’s cultural and entertainment offering, to create new employment opportunities, and to make use of the wealth of talent and energy among Saudi youth.”
The company is planning to invest in a number of entertainment projects, which includes an entertainment complex that will be launched by 2019, and is expected to generate more than 22,000 local jobs and contribute SR8 billion to the economy by 2030. An estimated 50 million visitors annually are also expected by that time.
“The new company will form a central pillar of the Kingdom’s diverse entertainment sector, providing new investment capital to support the sector’s growth and the diversification of the Saudi economy over the short and long-term,” SPA said, and would also “localize the large amount of spending on entertainment outside the Kingdom, in addition to promoting the entertainment sector’s role in diversifying revenue streams.”