Lucid is negotiating with the Saudi Wealth Fund to build a factory

According to foreign media citing an interview with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund president Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the electric vehicle startup Lucid Motrs is negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF). The two parties intend to establish an electric vehicle in Saudi Arabia. Car factory.

Lucid Air (Image source: Lucid)

It was reported earlier this month that Lucid is negotiating with Saudi public investment fund that the company may build a factory near the Red Sea city of Jeddah. People familiar with the matter said that in 2018 the company received 1 billion US dollars of investment from PIF, and one of the conditions for this investment is to build a factory in Saudi Arabia.

Foreign media reported that the fund is seeking to attract international companies to set up operations in Saudi Arabia. Al-Rumayyan said that the fund 'has started discussions with some companies in the health sectorPIF is still negotiating with 'several' companies that have received investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund. Al-Rumayyan said: 'The next step is to promote these companies to establish business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.'

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman previously stated that PIF is the core of the country’s plan to modernize and establish new industries to reduce its dependence on oil, and its goal is to manage at least US$1 trillion by 2025. asset. But it has always been difficult for Saudi Arabia to attract foreign investment in areas other than energy.

The fund previously promised to invest 40 billion U.S. dollars in the domestic economy in the next five years; in addition, PIF's international risk exposure as a percentage of assets under management will drop from nearly 30% to about 20%. Al-Rumayyan also added that although PIF will require additional government capital injection, this will only happen when central bank reserves are replenished.