Saudi singer Mohammad Abdo gives a rare concert in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

:: The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced it is in the process of developing a new company to act as its investment arm in the Kingdom’s growing entertainment sector.

The company, which will have an initial capitalization of $ 2.67 billion (SAR 10 billion), will play an active investment role in various areas of the entertainment sector, and seek to attract strategic partnerships to build the eco-system within the Kingdom, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Additionally, the company will expand the scope and variety of entertainment offerings according to the latest international standards.

Entertainment complex

The company’s efforts will enable the development of and provide incentives for the entertainment sector, as well as building local capabilities within the Kingdom. The company is planning to invest in a number of entertainment projects, which include an entertainment complex that will be launched by 2019.

The company’s establishment is consistent with the ambitions within Vision 2030 to increase the Kingdom’s cultural and entertainment offering, to create new employment opportunities, and to make use of the wealth of talent and energy among Saudi youth.

By the end of 2030, the company’s projects aim to serve more than 50 million visitors annually and create more than 22,000 jobs in the Kingdom, which will contribute around $2.3 billion (SAR 8 billion) to GDP.

The new company will form a central pillar of the Kingdom’s diverse entertainment sector, providing new investment capital to support the sector’s growth and the diversification of the Saudi economy over the short and long-term.

“The company will seek to localize the large amount of spending on entertainment outside the Kingdom, in addition to promoting the entertainment sector’s role in diversifying revenue streams,” the PIF said.