RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and its portfolio companies have attracted SR96 billion ($25.6 billion) worth of investments in under three years, according to its top official. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the second Private Sector Forum held in Riyadh, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the wealth fund, noted that this funding was concentrated in 13 strategic sectors in the Kingdom from the beginning of 2021 until the end of the third quarter of 2023. The official pointed out that there are more than 100 Saudi firms eligible to work with the fund’s companies through the platform of the pre-qualification program for contractors, while training courses were organized for more than 200 small and medium companies to help them succeed in tendering processes. Hailing the almost SR100 billion secured from businesses, Al-Rumayyan said: “The private sector played an important role as an investor in the fund’s projects and its portfolio companies. The fund’s initiatives and programs launched by the PIF in last year’s edition contributed to strengthening the partnership with the private sector.” He added: “The private sector platform launched by the fund last year offers more than 200 opportunities worth more than SR20 billion.” During his speech, Al-Rumayyan also noted that the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 “considered empowering the private sector as one of the basic pillars of building a prosperous economy and set a goal of raising its contribution to the gross domestic product to 65 percent by 2030.” He went to say that, since the launch of the local content growth program MUSAHAMA, 56 of the fund’s companies have adopted their own policies to enhance the contribution of indigenous content. He added: “Foreign direct investment and local investment are very important to the fund, and we will walk together in all investments to achieve the desired goals of the vision.” The Private Sector Forum is being held at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center from Feb. 6-7. The event aims to foster partnerships between PIF, its portfolio companies, and the private sector, as the sovereign wealth fund seeks to increase local content through its portfolio companies to 60 percent by the end of 2025. Representatives from over 80 PIF portfolio companies are set to attend along with ministers and CEOs. During the forum, the PIF, in partnership with the National Infrastructure Fund, introduced a new Contractor Financing Program. This initiative aims to strengthen the construction sector by providing builders with a variety of customized financing solutions. This will foster the construction ecosystem and will promote projects structured to improve contractors" cashflows.