Yasir Al-Rumayyan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan.jpg
Born
Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan

(1970-02-18) February 18, 1970 (age 51)
TitleGovernor of Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Chairman of Board of the Saudi Aramco & Chairman of Newcastle United
Board member ofSaudi Aramco, Uber Technologies Inc., SoftBank Group, Reliance Industries Limited

Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan (Arabic: ياسر الرميان) is a Saudi businessman who is Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Chairman of Newcastle United and the Chairman of Saudi Aramco.

Early life and career[]

Yasir Al-Rumayyan was born in 1970 and graduated from King Faisal University in Alahsa in 1993, later completing a general management program at Harvard Business School in 2007.[1]

Career[]

He began his career at Saudi Hollandi Bank, becoming head of international brokerage before joining the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), where he was head of securities listings.[2][3] Between 2011 and 2015, Al-Rumayyan was CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital (SFC), the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi.[1][4] From 2014 to 2015 he was on the board of directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange.[4]

Public Investment Fund[]

In September 2015, Al-Rumayyan was appointed managing director of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.[5][6]

In 2016, PIF invested $3.5 billion in the US-based Uber Technologies Inc.[7] He joined Uber's board of directors as part of the agreement.[8]

In August 2016, Al-Rumayyan joined the board of the state oil company Saudi Aramco as part of a move toward closer cooperation between Aramco and PIF in restructuring the Saudi economy.[9] In October that year, PIF invested $45 billion in the newly established SoftBank Vision Fund.[10] In May 2017, PIF invested $20 billion to a joint US infrastructure fund with Blackstone.[11]

In October 2017, Al-Rumayyan announced that PIF would aim to increase its assets under management to more than $400 billion and create more than 20,000 new jobs by 2020.[12][11] At the same time he presented a new investment strategy for the fund, based on four objectives of maximizing assets, investing in new sectors, localizing technologies, and developing economic partnerships.[12] He also said PIF would borrow conservatively to finance specific assets and would seek further partnerships such as those with Blackstone and SoftBank.[5][13] He sits on the boards of SoftBank Group and Reliance Industries Ltd.[14]

Al-Rumayyan was involved in the transfer of assets to PIF in the wake of the Saudi Arabian regime's 2017 purge.[15] Al-Rumayyan transferred 20 companies that had been seized by the regime into the PIF.[15] One of these companies was later alleged to be used by Saudi operatives in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.[15]

In September 2018, Al-Rumayyan announced PIF's first step in incorporating loans and debt instruments into its long term strategy, with an $11 billion loan facility.[16] The following month he said the fund would aim to increase the percentage of international assets in its portfolio from 10% to 50% by 2030.[17]

At the Milken Institute in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, Al-Rumayyan announced that PIF would open new offices in London, New York and San Francisco, and would increase its workforce from 450 to 700 by the end of 2019.[18][19] He also said the fund would invest in renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia, including the local manufacture of solar panels.[18]

In October 2021, PIF announced that the acquisition of Newcastle United by the consortium consisting of the Public Investment Fund and Al-Rumayyan would be elected as chairman of the club after PIF acquired the club.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "FaceOf: Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund". Arab News. 9 May 2018.
  2. ^ "All transactions go". The Business Year. June 2014.
  3. ^ David French (6 March 2014). "Banque Saudi Fransi loses key equity banker to Jadwa Investment". Reuters.
  4. ^ a b "MOVES-CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital resigns - source". Reuters.
  5. ^ a b Andrew Torchia (25 October 2017). "Huge Saudi fund to be conservative borrower, chief says". Reuters.
  6. ^ "KSA keen on overseas buying with potential for knowledge transfer". Saudi Gazette. 28 October 2015.
  7. ^ Alex Konrad (1 June 2016). "Uber Raises $3.5 Billion From Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, Keeps $62.5 Billion Valuation". Forbes.
  8. ^ "Saudi signals new investment strategies in $3.5 bln Uber deal". Reuters. 2 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Saudi Aramco appoints chief of sovereign wealth fund to board". Reuters. 10 August 2016.
  10. ^ Margherita Stancati; Mayumi Negishi; Nicolas Parasie (20 May 2017). "SoftBank, Saudis Launch $100 Billion Tech Fund". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ a b "Saudi's PIF commits $20 bln to $40 billion fund with Blackstone". Reuters. 24 October 2017.
  12. ^ a b Deirdre Hipwell (26 October 2017). "Saudi Arabia to raise size of state wealth fund to $400bn". The Times.
  13. ^ Erik Schatzker; Matthew Martin; Arif Sharif (24 October 2017). "Saudi Wealth Fund Plans to Borrow to Double Investment Returns". Bloomberg News.
  14. ^ [1]
  15. ^ a b c "Revealed: Newcastle chairman's links to Saudi 'anti-corruption' drive". the Guardian. 2021-10-16. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  16. ^ "Saudi Arabia's PIF raises $11bn through maiden syndicated loan facility". The National. 17 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Saudi Public Investment Fund invested in 50-60 firms via SoftBank fund". Al Arabiya. 23 October 2018.
  18. ^ a b Dania Saadi (13 February 2019). "PIF to open offices abroad as it seeks to boost foreign investments". The National.
  19. ^ Matthew Martin (13 February 2019). "Saudi Wealth Fund Plans San Francisco Office". Bloomberg News.
  20. ^ "PIF, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media acquire Newcastle United Football Club". Newcastle United. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
Retrieved from ""