The Edmond de Rothschild Group, a specialist in asset management and private banking, is expected to open an office in Saudi Arabia this year and launch a debt financing platform for infrastructure projects in that country, the company said. Swiss bank Thursday.
The platform could help Saudi Arabia in its sweeping Vision 2030 plan that aims to wean the economy off oil, but it has so far attracted little investment from outside the kingdom.
The plan, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the kingdom’s prime minister and de facto day-to-day ruler, includes building massive new urban developments and investing in various sectors to help create thousands of new jobs.
Edmond de Rothschild will work with SNB Capital to set up the platform to help finance infrastructure projects across the Gulf country, the two companies said in a joint statement.
The Swiss bank, which manages more than €5 billion ($5.4 billion) in infrastructure debt assets, has also established a joint venture with Watar Partners to provide infrastructure debt advisory services to family offices and Saudi institutional investors.
This partnership should be implemented during the second half of this year and be accompanied by the opening of a local office in Riyadh.
“This is a logical step for our group, which builds on the long-standing business relationships we have with the country,” said Ariane de Rothschild, general manager of the Geneva bank, in the communicated.
Last year, Edmond de Rothschild also strengthened its presence in Dubai, in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, with a consultancy office.
($1 = 0.9266 euros) (Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Mark Potter)
