The conference, dubbed the Future Investment Initiative, is being hosted by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. The event is being attended by giants in the business world and top Saudi officials.
At the heart of the conference are Saudi reform efforts to transform its sovereign wealth fund into the world's largest.
The kingdom hopes to do this by listing less than 5 percent of state-owned oil firm Aramco on the Saudi stock exchange and an international exchange, then transferring control of those funds to its Public Investment Fund, also known as PIF.
Recently, reports emerged that Saudi Arabia was considering holding off on the international portion of the IPO in favor of a private offering from a key investor like China. Saudi officials, however, insist Aramco is on track for listings as early as next year.
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PIF managing director Yasir al-Rumayyan, who is also on the board of Aramco, addressed those concerns at the forum in Riyadh today.
Meanwhile, PIF has grabbed headlines with some major international investments, including USD 3.5 billion in ride- hailing service Uber last year. It's also joined forces with Japan's Softbank and other leading technology and investment funds to create a massive fund to invest in technologies like artificial intelligence.
Al-Rumayyan said Tuesday PIF is contributing USD 20 billion to a USD 50 billion health care and real estate fund with US private equity firm Blackstone. The Saudi fund already has USD 20 billion invested in a US-focused infrastructure fund with Blackstone.
The fund is also creating a company to build new hotels and prime real estate around Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina. It launched an entertainment investment company to cater to the needs of Saudi Arabia's youth and oversee the development of a Six Flags theme park outside the capital, Riyadh.
All of these projects are aimed at creating tens of thousands of jobs for young Saudis. Over the next decade, an estimated 5 million young Saudis will enter the workforce, creating an urgent need for the government to support rapid job creation.
That decision is expected to boost the economy by freeing up money women spend on drivers and transportation. It also gives women greater mobility to work, which could boost household incomes.
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