PIF cooperates with “Lazard” to explore financing and ‎underwriting options ‎

The Public Investment Fund is working with Lazard Financial Advisors to explore financing options for Masar, a massive $27 billion project in Makkah, as well as the potential for an initial public offering of the project.

According to “Reuters”, the two sources, who asked not to be named because the matter was not announced yet, stated that the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which has assets worth more than $600 billion, is working with the American financial advisory firm on (Masar) and many other companies among other projects, including the $500 billion NEOM economic zone.

Bloomberg Network was the first to report that Lazard is advising the sovereign wealth fund on NEOM.

Lazard has been looking for deals in the kingdom since it brought in Waseem al-Khatib, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Citigroup, who played a key role in Aramco’s record $29.4 billion IPO in 2019.

One of the sources said that the plan for the public offering of the company (Masar) is scheduled for next year, but the timetable may change because it is still in its early stages, and the size or value of the deal has not yet been determined.

And the path of an urban development project on an area of ​​1.2 million square meters in the western part of Makkah.

The company developing the project is Umm Al-Qura Development and Reconstruction Company, which is a private company that includes investment bodies, including the Public Investment Fund, the Ministry of Finance, General Organization for Social Insurance and the General Authority for Endowments.

Those in charge of the Masar project say that its development is in line with Vision 2030, a program developed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil revenues, as well as attract foreign investments to create new sectors and stimulate job creation.

The pilgrimage is a major commercial activity for Saudi Arabia, and it is the backbone of plans that also aim to increase the number of visitors as part of the ambitious economic reform plan of the Crown Prince.

The company that developed the Masar project expects to receive 80 percent of Mecca visitors.

In April of last year, the Crown Prince issued a decree to issue four comprehensive sukuk for the Masar project, a decision that Yasser Abu Atiq, CEO of Umm Al-Qura Company, said represents the first step towards the public offering of Masar Company.

The comprehensive deed replaced all the 3,626 plots of land on which the project is based. Abu Atiq said that the comprehensive instrument represents an effective mechanism and regulatory tool for the authorities to address the obstacles facing mega projects.