Saudi wealth fund aims high with 2 deals

Saudi Arabia plans to expand its sovereign wealth fund into the world’s largest. The kingdom took a huge step toward that goal on Saturday when it signed billions of dollars of deals with Blackstone Group and SoftBank Group Corp.

The Public Investment Fund is at the center of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify revenue away from oil under an economic transformation plan known as Vision 2030. The fund could eventually control more than $2 trillion, according to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The sale of a less than 5 percent stake in oil giant Aramco to the public will provide funds for investment.

“We want to be an investment powerhouse,” Public Investment Fund managing director Yasir Alrumayyan said Saturday during an event that gathered top Saudi officials and American corporate titans, including JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat, in Riyadh. “Most of the investments we announced and will announce soon are international, but they will be in parallel with our investments in Saudi.”

The Public Investment Fund’s deal making has quickened this year as it seeks to increase the proportion of foreign holdings to 50 percent from 5 percent, excluding Aramco.

The fund’s biggest investments so far include the Blackstone Infrastructure Fund. The Public Investment Fund agreed to commit $20 billion to an infrastructure investment fund with Blackstone, the world’s biggest private-equity manager.