Source: Global Times Published: 2024-08-02

By Tao Mingyang

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with six Chinese financial institutions worth $50 billion in total, said the fund on Thursday via its official website, indicating that bilateral collaborations in the financial sector are being further enhanced.

The six Chinese financial institutions are Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, Export-Import Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to the PIF.

China's economy is relatively stable and still in the recovery stage, as observers said that it showed global investors are eyeing high potential investment returns in the China market.

The MOUs cover areas of cooperation such as encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity, and come as part of the PIF's strategy to foster institutional partnerships globally.

Fahad AlSaif, PIF's Head of the Global Capital Finance Division and Head of Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division, said that the MOUs demonstrate a deepening relationship with leading Chinese financial institutions, and will promote PIF's global partnership, the fund's official website showed.

Saudi Arabia's increasing need to shift its previous economic engines such as energy resources to emerging industries such as digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy explains why investment in China by funds from the state is surging, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday.

Two exchange-traded funds tracking large Saudi companies, including Saudi Aramco, made successful debuts in the Chinese mainland stock market on July 16, and their values rose by the daily limit of 10 percent, with a premium of more than 6 percent, highlighting the strengthening links between the financial markets in China and the Middle East.