The David Rubenstein Show: Saudi Wealth Fund Head Yasir Al-Rumayyan

The Goal of Sovereign Wealth Funds

In this section, the speaker discusses the goals of sovereign wealth funds and their impact on economic growth.

Sovereign Wealth Fund Goals

• Some sovereign wealth funds aim to get the highest rate of return.

• The principal goal is to have higher returns and a positive economic impact.

• The speaker aims for PIF to be the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world by 2030 with $2 trillion assets under management.

Leadership and Management

In this section, the speaker talks about leadership and management.

Defining Leadership

• The interviewer asks how the speaker defines leadership.

Balancing Two Roles

In this section, the speaker discusses balancing his roles as chairman of Saudi Aramco and head of PIF.

Balancing Roles

• The speaker explains that his role at Aramco is focused on strategy, targets, performance monitoring, and board management. His role at PIF is executive in nature, looking after investments opportunities and current portfolio companies.

• He clarifies that while he is a board member at PIF, his role there is different from his role as chairman at Aramco.

[0.02.37] Growth of PIF

In this section, the speaker talks about how he became head of PIF and its growth over time.

Appointment as Head of PIF

• The speaker explains that he was appointed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to head PIF in 2015.

• At the time of his appointment, PIF had $150 billion assets under management.

Growth of PIF

• After changing the strategy and board, PIF's assets under management grew to over $325 billion.

• The speaker believes that it is achievable for PIF to reach $2 trillion assets under management by 2030 through good performance and government asset acquisitions.

Appointment as Head of PIF

In this section, the speaker talks about how he was appointed as head of PIF.

Appointment Process

• The speaker explains that he did not know Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before being appointed.

• He received a call from the Crown Prince asking him to take on the role and outlining what he wanted him to do.

Family Support

In this section, the speaker discusses his family's reaction to his new job.

Family Reaction

• The speaker's family was supportive of his new job and proud to participate in positive changes happening in Saudi Arabia.

Vision for the Future

In this section, the speaker discusses their vision for the future of their company and Saudi Arabia's economy.

Goals for Expansion

• The goal is to have more than 1,000 full-time employees in Saudi Arabia.

• The company plans to open offices in New York and London in the second half of the year.

• The company is considering opening an office in Asia, potentially in China or Hong Kong.

Diversifying Revenue Streams

• The company's principle goal is to have positive economic impact and improve revenue diversity.

• The Crown Prince's goal is to make Saudi Arabia less dependent on oil.

• Non-oil revenue has increased tremendously over the past three years.

• A sustainable and less volatile economy can be achieved by having more non-oil revenue.

Investments in Uber

In this section, the speaker talks about their investment in Uber and how it came about.

Investment Decision

• The decision to invest was made after using Uber's app and liking its service.

• An Uber executive visiting Saudi Arabia presented the investment opportunity to the speaker.

• After going through layers of investment diligence, including approval from an investment committee and board members, they decided to invest.

Personal Use of Uber

• The speaker used Uber frequently when traveling within both Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Investment in SoftBank's Vision Fund

In this section, the speaker discusses their investment in SoftBank's Vision Fund and the reasoning behind it.

Investment Strategy

• The investment was made to align with the company's strategy of investing in artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things.

• The goal is to have sustainable investments for Saudi Arabia's young population.

• The speaker is happy with the investment, which has grown to about $9.5 billion after two and a half years.

Other Investment Opportunities

• After making a $45 billion commitment to SoftBank's Vision Fund, the speaker did not receive requests for similar investments from other parties.

Saudi Aramco and Carbon Neutrality

In this section, the interviewer asks about Saudi Aramco, the largest publicly traded company in the world and also the largest oil company in the world. The interviewee talks about their mission to be more efficient while still producing oil and how they have one of the lowest emissions for a good reason.

Saudi Aramco's Mission

• Saudi Aramco is the largest company from different levels market cap.

• The IPO that we had was the largest IPO in the world.

• Our program is to have multiple number of listings over the years so we're looking into it to have more offerings.

• Saudi Aramco has been working on their mission for decades now so we have one of the largest if not the largest production but at the same time we have as a country and as a company one of the lowest emission for a good reason.

Carbon Neutrality

• If possible, do you want to be carbon neutral by a certain period of time?

• We think we should be more efficient but at the same time we shouldn't forget who we are what we do.

• Oil is very much important it's generally considered as cheapest energy source today.

Challenges Faced by Chairman of Saudi Aramco

In this section, interviewer asks about challenges faced by chairman of Saudi Aramco. Interviewee talks about getting IPO done before end of 2019 which was huge challenge.

Challenges Faced by Chairman

• What are some biggest challenges you've faced as chairman there?

• Getting the IPO done was the biggest challenge.

• The valuation was amazing and the demand that we got was really great almost five times the demand the offer size.

Saudi Arabia's Progress

In this section, interviewer asks what would you like people to know about Saudi Arabia. Interviewee talks about how Saudi Arabia is progressing every day.

Progress of Saudi Arabia

• What would you like people to know about Saudi Arabia?

• Saudi Arabia is progressing every day and the progress that we have we are.

The Future Investment Initiative Conference

In this section, the interviewer asks about the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh and why it is held.

Purpose of FII Conference

• The FII conference is an annual event that brings together elites from the investment world.

• It is sponsored by Saudi Arabia and has been held for three years in a row.

• The conference has now transformed into an institution called the FII Institution.

• It will continue to be held every year.

PIF Portfolio Companies

In this section, the interviewer asks about a new city project announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and whether PIF is involved. They also discuss other Giga projects under PIF's portfolio companies.

New City Project

• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a project to build a new city.

• This project is part of PIF's portfolio companies, specifically under MPIF which manages six different pools of investments.

• Neon is on top of these Giga projects, which include Red Sea, Judea, and Amala.

Other Giga Projects

• There are three other Giga projects under PIF's portfolio companies - Red Sea, Judea, and Amala.

• Another pool includes real estate and infrastructure investments.

Progress in Saudi Arabia

In this section, the interviewer asks what people should know about Saudi Arabia that they might not know. They discuss how Saudi Arabia is progressing every day and opening up for tourism.

Image of Saudi Arabia

• People may have a different image of Saudi Arabia than what it actually is.

• Saudi Arabia is progressing every day, and the progress witnessed is amazing.

• The country is opening up for tourism, and its tourism sites are among the best in the world.

Governance in Saudi Arabia

In this section, the interviewer asks about how Saudi Arabia is governed and whether it's different from other countries in the Gulf.

Governance System

• Saudi Arabia has a king, crown prince, and royal family just like some other countries.

• The system has been there since 1930 when the third Saudi Kingdom came into existence.

• The regime in Saudi Arabia progresses and develops over years with reforms after reforms.

Future of Saudi Arabia

In this section, the interviewer asks about the future of Saudi Arabia. They discuss goals to make it less dependent on oil and more comparable to Western countries.

Goals for Future

• The goal for the future of Saudi Arabia is to be much less dependent on oil in 20 or 30 years than it is today.

• Other goals include making it more comparable to other Western countries in terms of business community by diversifying its economy.

Golfing in Saudi Arabia

In this section, they discuss golfing as one of PIF's chairman hobbies. They also talk about golf courses in Saudi Arabia.

Golf Courses

• There are currently four or five grass golf courses in Saudi Arabia.

• Historically speaking, Aramco had around 14 to 20 desert golf courses.

• Golf started long ago in the kingdom during Arrancar's time when American engineers started playing golf in the desert.

Golfing as a Hobby

• The chairman of PIF is also the chairman of the National Golf Sanity Golf Enter.

• He is a 12 handicap golfer and has played in major tournaments.

Putting in Golf

In this section, the interviewer asks a question about putting in golf.

Putting Etiquette

• The interviewer asks if when playing golf with high-ranking officials, they give you the putt or make you putt it out.

• The interviewer comments on the interviewee's age and energy level and asks if he enjoys his job and plans to continue doing it for the foreseeable future.