Yasir Al-Rumayyan

Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan ( ar, ياسر الرميان) is a Saudi businessman who is Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also serves as the Chairman of English football club Newcastle United and the Chairman of state-owned petroleum company Saudi Aramco.

Early life and education

Yasir Al-Rumayyan was born in Buraidah, Al-Qassim Province in 1970 and graduated from King Faisal University in Alahsa in 1993.

Career

He began his career at Saudi Hollandi Bank, becoming head of international brokerage before joining the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), where he was head of securities listings. Between 2011 and 2015, Al-Rumayyan was CEO of Saudi Fransi Capital (SFC), the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi. From 2014 to 2015 he was on the board of directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange.

Public Investment Fund

In September 2015, Al-Rumayyan was appointed managing director of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

In 2016, PIF invested $3.5 billion in the US-based Uber He joined Uber's board of directors as part of the agreement.

In August 2016, Al-Rumayyan joined the board of the state oil company Saudi Aramco as part of a move toward closer cooperation between Aramco and PIF in restructuring the Saudi economy. In October that year, PIF invested $45 billion in the newly established SoftBank Vision Fund. In May 2017, PIF invested $20 billion to a joint US infrastructure fund with Blackstone.

In October 2017, Al-Rumayyan announced that PIF would aim to increase its assets under management to more than $400 billion and create more than 20,000 new jobs by 2020. At the same time he presented a new investment strategy for the fund, based on four objectives of maximizing assets, investing in new sectors, localizing technologies, and developing economic partnerships. He also said PIF would borrow conservatively to finance specific assets and would seek further partnerships such as those with Blackstone and SoftBank. He sits on the boards of SoftBank Group and Reliance Industries Ltd.

Al-Rumayyan was involved in the transfer of assets to PIF in the wake of the Saudi Arabian government's 2017 purge. Al-Rumayyan transferred 20 companies that had been seized by the government into the PIF. One of these companies was later alleged to be used by Saudi operatives in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In September 2018, Al-Rumayyan announced PIF's first step in incorporating loans and debt instruments into its long term strategy, with an $11 billion loan facility. The following month he said the fund would aim to increase the percentage of international assets in its portfolio from 10% to 50% by 2030.

At the Milken Institute in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, Al-Rumayyan announced that PIF would open new offices in London, New York and San Francisco, and would increase its workforce from 450 to 700 by the end of 2019. He also said the fund would invest in renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia, including the local manufacture of solar panels.

In October 2021, PIF announced that the acquisition of Newcastle United by the consortium consisting of the Public Investment Fund and Al-Rumayyan would be elected as chairman of the club after PIF acquired the club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumayyan, Yasir
1970 births
Living people
King Faisal University alumni
Newcastle United F.C. directors and chairmen
Saudi Arabian businesspeople
Saudi Arabian investment bankers
Saudi Arabian government officials
SoftBank people
Uber people