Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is preparing to host the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2018 program, which will continue to explore the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping the global investment landscape. The 2018 edition will build on the success of last year’s inaugural event, which brought together over 3,800 participants from more than 90 countries. The event will be held under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and Chairman of PIF. The second FII will take place in Riyadh from October 23 to 25. The Fund explained that FII 2018 will bring together renowned visionaries with the power to shape the future of global investment to discuss three broad themes: Investing in Transformation, which focuses on how the world’s top investors are creating new cities and transforming economies. The second theme is Technology as Opportunity that deals with considering how technologies are enabling new economic opportunities through personalization and industrialization at scale. The third, Advancing Human Potential, looks at a world where humans and machines work together to create safer, happier and more productive lives. FII was launched as a substantial international platform for expert-led debate between investors, innovators and governments, as well as economic leaders. Discussions at last years event focused on future developments in the world economy, including investment trends around areas such as energy, infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence and robotics, as well as new growth areas. The 2018 edition aims to continue building active global networks of influential actors to further explore the emerging industries that will shape the global economy and investment environment over the coming decades. Yasir al-Rumayyan, Managing Director of PIF, announced the 2018 FII after the success of the inaugural event. "The Public Investment Fund is developing into one of the world’s leading and most impactful sovereign wealth funds, and we look forward to continuing to build strong strategic partnerships while also showcasing the opportunity for private sector participation as Saudi Arabia’s economy continues to expand and diversify," he added. Last year’s FII saw the launch of the Public Investment Fund Program (2018-2020), one of 12 Vision 2030 Realization Programs, which will act as a road-map to help diversify the Kingdom’s economy and transform it into a global investment powerhouse. Launched to promote global collaboration, FII has already fostered new partnerships that will help transform industries in Saudi Arabia and globally. The 2017 edition saw future initiatives announced with Blackstone, SoftBank, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit.