RIYADH — Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF); Yasir Al Rumayyan, called for a stronger role for the private sector in the next phase of Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation, as the Public Investment Fund moves from building strategic sectors to integrating systems and increasing growth across the economy.
“We are gathered today at a pivotal stage in the Saudi economy, where ambition is reached where opportunity is measured by profit, hard work and determination,” Al Rumayyan said in his opening remarks at the 4th PIF Private Sector Forum on Monday.
He described the forum as “the largest platform of its kind for seizing opportunities for partnership and cooperation with the private sector,” noting that participants have reached 25,000 people since 2023, including government and private sector leaders and global investors.
Looking back on the previous session, Al Rumayan said that the dialogue had led to concrete results, with more than 140 agreements worth more than SR15 billion signed.
He said the results confirmed the “partnership that unites us” in transforming the Saudi economy and reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to enabling the private sector to “contribute to leading the Kingdom’s economic transformation and become an enabler of growth and a generator of opportunity.”
Al Rumayyan said PIF works with the private sector to “build an integrated economic system that maximizes impact and leads to sustainable growth” and follows an investment cycle approach, starting with risk-taking in strategic sectors and extending to partnerships and initiatives that stimulate local content, supply chain localization, capacity building, industrial development and infrastructure.
He said that with the promotion of local content development programmes, spending on local content by the fund and its portfolio companies reached SR591 billion between 2020 and 2024.
He added that the Contractor Development Program contributed SR10 billion through innovative financing solutions, increasing the participation rate of local contractors in PIF projects to 67 percent in 2025.
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Al Rumayan said the Fund’s platform for optimal deployment has delivered more than 190 investment opportunities worth more than SR40 billion through international partnerships and local supply chains.
“The impact was not limited to supply,” he said, adding that the initiative increased enterprise preparedness, built national capacity and created job opportunities “within a system applied in accordance with the highest efficiency, transparency and governance standards.”
He said the growing demand for investment in the Kingdom is evident from the presence of hundreds of companies starting or expanding operations in the country. “We welcome them as partners in our growth journey,” he said.
Looking ahead, Al Rumayyan said that since 2017, the Fund has been breaking new horizons through long-term investments in strategic sectors, noting that under the third phase of Vision 2030 and the PIF’s five-year strategy, the focus has shifted “from building sectors to integrating systems, from creating opportunities to commoditizing growth.”
“This is an open invitation to the private sector to invest and partner in creating a diverse and exciting economy,” he said, adding that while the Fund continues to deliver systems and lay the foundations for growth, the next stage requires the private sector to demonstrate greater readiness, ambition and the ability to scale and deliver.
He said that amid the rapid transformation of labor models, artificial intelligence, capital markets, content trends and production chains, the role of the private sector is expected to shift “from execution to contributing to building the economy and creating value across the chain.”
Mr. Al Rumayan said, “Today’s private sector pioneering opportunity is the most powerful opportunity to drive growth, shape the future, participate in achieving sustainable profits, and join us in the journey of national economic development.”
