Saudi Jeddah Port eyes three overseas deals worth $500m each

The PIF is leading a strategy to turn the Kingdom into a transport and logistics hub and support local companies looking to export products. (Shutterstock)

• It is also aiming to spend up to $1.7 billion developing its main port in Jeddah on the Red Sea

RIYADH: The operator of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal is looking to invest in ports in Africa and the Middle East, following backing from the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF), Bloomberg reported.
“The RSGT plans to invest in at least three international ports in the next five years,” port chief Jens Floe said. Each investment is worth $500 million, he said.
It is also aiming to spend up to $1.7 billion developing its main port in Jeddah on the Red Sea, as well as potentially investing in other Saudi ports, Bloomberg said.
Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Cosco Shipping Ports bought a stake in RSGT in January, valuing the port operator at about $880 million.
The PIF is leading a strategy to turn the Kingdom into a transport and logistics hub and support local companies looking to export products. The pandemic has also led to a renewed focus on food security in the region, where the desert environment means many countries rely on agricultural imports.
“Adding Cosco and PIF as shareholders will really accelerate our domestic and our international growth plans,” Floe said in an interview with Bloomberg.
He added that investments may come in rail and dry ports, and emerging market terminals in “less mature and less organized ports.”