Saudi wealth fund in talks with Lucid for car plant in kingdom, says FT

DUBAI: Lucid Motors Inc is in talks with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to build an electric vehicle factory in the kingdom, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview with the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Lucid is in talks with the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to build a factory potentially near the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

The company raised more than US$1 billion from the PIF in 2018, an investment that was conditional on the firm developing a site in Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter said.

The fund is seeking to lure international companies to set up operations in the kingdom, the FT said. It is “already in discussion with a number of companies in the health sector,” Al-Rumayyan told the paper, without giving further details.

The PIF is also in talks with “many” companies in SoftBank’s Saudi-backed Vision Fund. “The next step is to go forward in getting them to the kingdom,” Al-Rumayyan said.

The PIF’s international exposure will decline to about 20% of assets under management during the next five years, from nearly 30%.

Saudi Arabia might consider listing more shares in Saudi Aramco “if the valuation is right,” he said.

The PIF will need additional government cash injections. This will happen only when the central bank’s reserves are replenished.