Foreign investors pulled a record amount of money from US equity funds tracking Saudi Arabia in October as the Middle East’s worst violence in decades shook the region’s business-friendly narrative, well-confirmed sources revealed.
The iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF saw record net outflows in October of more than $200 million, LSEG data shows, cutting 20% from what it held at the beginning of the month, the sources added.
Experts have warned that the sharp decline in foreign investments by 85% in just one year is a real disaster that proves that foreign investors do not trust the projects launched by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
MBS’s extravagant spending since emerging as the main power broker in Saudi Arabia has repeatedly made headlines.
The son of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud bought a $500-million yacht in 2015 and was also reported to be the mystery buyer of a $450-million Leonardo da Vinci painting in 2017.
For its part, Stratfor website indicated that a lingering energy crisis and monetary tightening will negatively impact the Saudi economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Foreign direct investment is still much lower than previous years despite Prince Mohammed’s efforts to restructure its economy, the US website said.
It further noted that the Kingdom will take advantage of its pivotal role in the global oil markets to intensify its crackdown against peaceful opposition.
When the crown prince launched his Vision 2030 economic strategy in 2016, the aim was for FDI to reach around $19 billion by 2020, but in fact it was just $5.4 billion that year.
Efforts to attract inward investment have been hampered by the clampdown on senior business executives and other figures in 2017 – billed by the authorities as an anti-corruption drive. The brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul the following year made international companies even more wary of being seen to support the Riyadh regime.
Bloomberg also said that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is pursuing investments in an industry long favored by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: video games.
The Riyadh-based Public Investment Fund acquired more than $3 billion worth of stock in three US video-game makers during the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing. They include Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive So
France 24 earlier published a report describing the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Slaman (MBS) as the “Gamer Prince” after hosting the international eSport gamers forum “Next World” this month.
Much like with Formula One and professional golf, the world’s biggest oil exporter has in recent years leveraged its immense wealth to assert itself on the eSports stage, hosting glitzy conferences and snapping up established tournament organisers, the report said.
In January, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund launched the Savvy Gaming Group, which acquired top eSports firms ESL Gaming and FACEIT in deals reportedly worth a total of $1.5 billion.
