Saudi Arabia: $3bn entertainment fund

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on 20 September it was setting up a division to invest in the domestic entertainment industry, with an initial capitalisation of SR10bn ($2.7bn). The PIF is often used by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz to push his reform agenda, with the leisure industry a notable area of activity.Details of the latest initiative remain sketchy, but the PIF says it will look for strategic partners to develop new services “in line with international standards”, in a bid to create 22,000 jobs by 2030.