Russia's Sovereign Wealth Fund To Boost Investment Deals With Saudi Arabia

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is planning to multiply the number of investment deals with Saudi Arabia “by several times” in 2019, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.

The announcement comes as the RDIF leads the first Russian business mission of the year to the kingdom, bringing along more than 20 majority stakeholders and senior managers of companies including petrochemicals holding SIBUR, submersible pump manufacturer Novomet and fertiliser producer Phosagro.

In Saudi Arabia, the delegation met with a number of Saudi officials and executives including Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser, Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister and Public Investment Fund managing director Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

The delegations discussed a number of projects in the oil refining, petrochemical, gas and oil services sectors.

Amon the projects were large-scale petrochemical projects in Russia and rubber production and joint oil and gas manufacturing projects in Saudi Arabia, the RDIF said.

“RDIF is delighted that the Russia-Saudi partnership takes no break as we enter the new year with ambitious plans for new investment deals,” said RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev.

“We see strong interest in exploring new joint opportunities among Russian and Saudi business leaders.”

Dmitriev added that the RDIF expects “investment levels to multiply by a significant factor this year and further in 2020.”

RDIF currently has a $10 billion investment partnership with PIF, with more than $2 billion already invested in projects including St.Petersburg’s Pulkovo International Airport and a toll road bypassing Moscow’s Kutuzovsky Prospekt, one of the city’s busiest avenues.

“We are looking forward to new deals already this year this year in such sectors as oil field services, petrochemicals and gas chemicals,” said Khalid Al-Falih.

During a 2017 visit to Moscow by King Salman, the RDIF, Saudi Aramco and PIF established a $1 billion joint platform for energy sector investments as well as a $1 billion platform for technology investments.