Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has announced two new initiatives to boost the asset management industry in the kingdom.
Announced on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, the announcements included the PIF Managers Gate Platform and the Portfolio Management Development Programme.
The Managers Gate programme will include a new digital platform to enable collaboration between PIF and external fund managers. The portal will allow secure data sharing, improved communications, and the digitisation of operational and investment due diligence processes, the fund said in a statement on Friday.
It will also promote growth in the asset management ecosystem by exploring potential opportunities and will bolster PIF’s collaboration with fund managers.
The Portfolio Management Development Programme is an educational initiative that will be delivered in partnership with IE University. It will be sponsored by SNB Capital that will provide financial market training to aspiring portfolio managers in Saudi Arabia.
The programme aims to set a “high standard for portfolio management practices” within the Saudi market, and will play a “crucial role in the development and advancement” of financial markets in the kingdom, PIF said.
“The asset management industry plays a vital role to support the efficient allocation of capital and management of risk in the economy, helping to promote economic growth and stability,” said Abdulmajeed Alhagbani, head of securities investment at PIF.
“High-quality professional support, talent and capital are critical enablers of the asset management industry.”
PIF also held its inaugural asset management forum at the FII summit, bringing together key players in the global asset management industry to discuss critical issues and support industry best practices.
One of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, PIF is at the centre of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the country’s economy away from hydrocarbons.
The total volume of the fund's assets under management amounts to more than 2 trillion Saudi riyals ($533 billion) and it aims to double that by 2025, Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said in May.
PIF has been instrumental in creating more than 500,000 jobs and “intends to create 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs”, he added.
It has established 90 companies since 2017 and is building a diversified portfolio by entering into long-term investment opportunities in 13 strategic sectors in Saudi Arabia and globally.
The fund aims to enable promising sectors and contribute to increasing local content by creating partnerships with the private sector, in addition to injecting at least 150 billion rials annually into the local economy.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
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