ROME — Public Investment Fund (PIF) Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said opportunities in Europe continue to outweigh challenges despite regulatory obstacles. He reaffirmed the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s commitment to international investments under its newly approved strategy through 2030.
Speaking at the FII Priority Summit in Rome on Thursday, Al-Rumayyan said the PIF had invested heavily across Europe over the past several years and remained committed to expanding partnerships with European companies and institutions.
Conflict underscored importance of long-term planning
Asked about the impact of the recent regional conflict, Al-Rumayyan said disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz highlighted vulnerabilities extending far beyond energy markets.
“The conflict that happened in the Strait of Hormuz didn’t only affect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the GCC countries, but it had a greater effect in the whole world,” he said.
He said the implications extended beyond oil and gas to petrochemicals, fertilizers and advanced manufacturing industries that depend on stable energy supplies.
“It wasn’t only about energy scarcity or energy catastrophe,” he said. “It’s going to the petrochemicals, to the fertilizers, to the advanced manufacturing.”
Al-Rumayyan said Saudi Arabia’s long-term planning helped mitigate the impact of the crisis.
“The good thing that we have in Saudi, both talking about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Aramco and also the PIF, is we do think in years and decades rather than just quarters,” he said.
He pointed to the East-West pipeline, developed decades ago after earlier threats to maritime navigation, as an example of strategic planning that protected Saudi exports during the recent tensions.
“If it wasn’t for this pipeline, we wouldn’t have a lifeline,” he said.
PIF remains committed to global investments
Al-Rumayyan stressed that PIF’s investment approach remains focused on long-term resilience and diversification.
“For us at the PIF, we always continue to invest, be very much diverse and our portfolio structurally resilient,” he said.
“We are a long-term patient investor and we will remain committed to all of our investments and investment strategy around the world.”
€98 billion invested across Europe
Highlighting the fund’s European footprint, Al-Rumayyan said PIF had deployed approximately €98 billion across Europe and the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2025.
“That has given about €70 billion of GDP contribution and created about 160,000 jobs around Europe,” he said.
He also noted that Saudi Aramco had spent around €80 billion with European suppliers, including approximately €20 billion in Italy alone.
Al-Rumayyan cited several partnerships and investments across Europe, including collaborations aimed at supporting Saudi Arabia’s automotive industry and investments in Italian luxury and manufacturing companies.
Europe offers major opportunities
Al-Rumayyan said PIF sees substantial potential for deeper cooperation with European partners.
He revealed that around 140 investment opportunities would be presented during the conference, with projects requiring joint ventures estimated at approximately €10.4 billion through 2030.
“I think the opportunities are more,” he said.
The governor said European industrial expertise could help support Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation while creating mutual benefits for both sides.
Regulatory challenges remain
Despite his positive outlook, Al-Rumayyan warned that regulatory issues continue to pose challenges for international investors.
“The challenges are mainly regulatory challenges,” he said.
He said some regulations currently under consideration in Europe could discourage investment from major companies and sovereign investors, including PIF, Aramco and SABIC.
“The good thing is the European regulators and policymakers are looking into it and hopefully we will have better solutions for it,” he said.
New strategy aims to bring the world to Saudi Arabia
Al-Rumayyan said PIF’s newly approved strategy through 2030 marks the next phase of the fund’s evolution.
“We just got our board to approve our new strategy until the end of 2030,” he said.
He explained that the fund’s previous strategy focused on integrating Saudi Arabia more deeply into the global economy.
“What PIF did since 2016, we basically brought the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world,” he said.
“Now our new strategy is to bring the world back to Saudi.”
Al-Rumayyan said the strategy centers on six ecosystems: tourism, urban development, advanced manufacturing, industrial and logistics services, clean energy and NEOM.
International investments will continue
The governor dismissed suggestions that the new strategy would reduce PIF’s global investment activities.
“A lot of people thought we will stop deploying investments internationally,” he said.
“I can tell you that we’re not going to stop.”
While the proportion of international investments may decline as domestic opportunities expand, he said the absolute value of overseas investments will continue to grow alongside PIF’s expanding assets under management.
“The percentages are going lower, but the absolute numbers will continue on growing,” he said.
Calls for ‘energy realism’
Asked about the lessons from the recent conflict for global energy security, Al-Rumayyan urged policymakers to adopt what he called “energy realism.”
“Energy realism, that’s what we need to really focus on,” he said.
He argued that renewable energy should complement rather than replace conventional energy sources.
“The new energy is really great and I think it’s a great addition, but it’s not going to be a substitution to fossil fuel,” he said.
Al-Rumayyan said many industries remain dependent on oil and gas, including petrochemicals, fertilizers and food production.
“The world cannot not rely on fossil fuel,” he said.
He added that growing demand from artificial intelligence technologies will further increase global energy needs.
“The world, especially with what’s happening right now with AI, needs more energy,” he said.
Aramco maintained 99% reliability during conflict
Speaking in his capacity as chairman of Saudi Aramco, Al-Rumayyan praised the company’s operational performance during the recent crisis.
“The resiliency of our supply chain is very important to us,” he said.
“The good thing in Aramco, our reliability even during this conflict was still over 99%.”
He said Aramco managed to restore affected facilities within weeks despite missile attacks.
“Usually it takes years. We did it in a matter of weeks,” he said.
Al-Rumayyan concluded by paying tribute to Aramco employees who maintained operations during the conflict.
“I would like to thank the men and women, the engineers, the firemen and the operators of Aramco,” he said.
“Their courage and resilience ensured the full reliability of our supply chain.”
Source: Saudi Gazette