Saudi PIF signs MoUs with Japanese lender worth up to $51bn

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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said on Thursday that it signed five MoUs with Japanese financial institutions worth up to an overall $51bn as the fund seeks to boost financial collaboration globally, enhancing cooperation in finance, investment and sustainable development.

PIF said it signed the MoUs with Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, MUFG Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. The deals seek to boost “two-way capital flows through both debt and equity.”

The MoUs cover both PIF and portfolio companies, as well as Japanese companies and financial institutions.

“The MoUs demonstrate PIF’s robust and ever-deepening relationships with leading international financial institutions,” said Rasees AlSaud, head of Financial Institutions and Investor Relations at PIF.

The deals with Japanese lenders add to more MoUs signed by the $925bn fund during the flagship Future Investment Initiative event.

Separately, PIF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said they were looking to jointly anchor a new fund targeting $1bn to invest in firms with a “Hong Kong nexus” that are expanding to Saudi Arabia, with a focus on sectors including manufacturing and renewables.

The fund also entered into a non-binding agreement to become an anchor investor in Brookfield Asset Management’s $2bn Middle East-focused private fund.

The private equity fund will target buyouts, structured solutions, and other investment opportunities across a range of strategic sectors, including industrial, business, consumer services, technology, and healthcare.

Read: Saudi wealth fund PIF to anchor Brookfield’s $2bn Middle East fund