Saudi wealth fund joins Qatar, UAE peers in private lending rush

Saudi Arabia’s $400 billion Public Investment Fund became the latest sovereign investor to enter the growing market for direct lending.

The PIF, as it’s known, will anchor a $300 million Shariah-compliant fund started by Dubai-based private equity firm NBK Capital Partners, according to a statement. Yaser Moustafa, senior managing director at NBK Capital, said that the vehicle will also invol­ve a “very promi­nent” US family office and large institutional investors.

Private credit has emerged as a popular asset class in recent years, ballooning into an $850 billion market as it attracted interest from the world’s largest sovereign investors.

NBK Capital, the private equity arm of Kuwait’s largest bank, said it compl­eted the first closing of the credit fund, which will work with mid-sized Middle Eastern firms that are struggling to secu­re attractive financing.