Saudi Sets up PIF to Meet Housing Demand

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said it had set up a new real estate subsidiary dubbed Roshn to help meet increasing local demand for housing. Saudi has already spent billions of riyals in recent years to provide housing, but a slump in oil prices has curbed government finances and pushed it to seek private sector partnerships to help diversify its economy. PIF gave no details on how much it envisaged spending on the new initiative or how many houses would be built. It said Roshn aimed to increase strategic partnerships with real estate investors and support the development of the contracting sector through the adoption of modern and innovative technologies.