The second Future Investment Initiative (FII) will take place in Riyadh in October, following the success of the inaugural event which saw the launch of Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom City project saudineom.com
Organised by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the event will take place from October 23-25 in the Saudi capital and will bring together “renowned visionaries with the power to shape the future of global investment”.
They will discuss three themes – Investing in Transformation; Technology as Opportunity; and Advancing Human Potential, a statement said.
FII was launched last year as an international platform for expert-led debate between investors, innovators and governments as well as economic leaders.
The inaugural event in 2017 saw over 3,800 participants from more than 90 countries, join in the discussions and debates to explore future developments in the world economy, including investment trends around areas such as energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence and robotics as well as new growth areas.
The second edition aims to continue building active, global networks of influential actors to further explore the emerging industries that will shape the global economy and investment environment over the coming decades, the statement added.
Yasir Al Rumayyan, managing director of PIF, said: “After the success of the inaugural event, we are pleased to announce the 2018 edition of the Future Investment Initiative.
“The Public Investment Fund is developing into one of the world’s leading and most impactful sovereign wealth funds, and we look forward continuing to build strong strategic partnerships while also showcasing the opportunity for private sector participation as Saudi Arabia’s economy continues to expand and diversify.”
Last year’s FII saw the launch of the Public Investment Fund Program (2018-2020), one of 12 Vision 2030 Vision Realization Programs, which will act as a roadmap to help drive the economic diversification in the kingdom and transform Saudi Arabia into a global investment powerhouse.
In addition, an expo opened following the launch of Neom by Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and of PIF.
The 2017 edition also saw future initiatives announced with Blackstone, SoftBank, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and Virgin Orbit. More
By Sam Bridge arabianbusiness.com
