Saudi Arabia to consider setting up sovereign wealth fund office in GIFT City

Saudi Arabia on Monday said it will consider setting up an office of its sovereign wealth fund (SWF) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) to facilitate investments.

Investment Minister of Saudi Arabia Khalid A. Al Falih said that within the next few weeks, he would send a strong delegation to GIFT City to explore the opportunity.

"I will match your offer and commit today that we will open an office in India for investment facilitation...we are talking about bi-directional (facilitation)," he said here at the India-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum meet.

He said this in response to a request by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

GIFT City in Gujarat is a multi-purpose special economic zone for financial services.

He said that the delegation would explore Gift City, Mumbai, or New Delhi.

The Saudi Minister also offered to set up a digital and physical space in Riyadh for Indian startups to access markets, partners and funding.

"Hopefully in the next few weeks we will create a joint agreement between our national venture capital fund and their counterpart in India to channel venture capital and funding to startups that will have the opportunity to leverage out two markets," he said.

Saudi investments in India stood at $3.22 billion from April 2000 to June 2023.

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Khalid said the investments were made by government-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) in some of the bigger Indian companies.

He added that PIF is keen on the Indian market and its investments but now the investments are going to increase.

Goyal also said that he has suggested that India will set up an office in Riyadh which will be partnered by Ficci and Invest India and some officials of the commerce and industry ministry.

"We have invited PIF, other SWFs, and investors to come and set up an office in GIFT City. Khalid Bhai and I both are committed to it...We have agreed that within the next 6 months, we will make both these in action actually on the ground," Goyal added.