Saudi PIF ups investment in China’s Alibaba-backed tech fund

Al-Monitor Staff

Dec 8, 2023

The Chinese and the Saudi flags adorning a street in Riyadh ahead of the Chinese president's visit to the Saudi capital, Dec. 7, 2022. — FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

The Jafal Fund of Funds, owned by Saudi Arabia’s $800 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), has increased its investment in eWTP Arabia Capital, a joint venture capital fund with China’s Alibaba that invests in energy and technology start-ups.

Jafal is one of several regional and Asian funds participating in eWTP Arabia’s current $1 billion funding round, which is set to end early next year, Bloomberg reported Friday.

eWTP founder and managing partner Jessica Wong told the news wire that the fund will invest in energy and technology start-ups. She added that eWTP had a few funds from “different pockets” of the PIF and is a strategic partner with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company.

The report did not disclose the size of the recent investment by Jafal, but noted that its total invested in the eWTP Arabia Capital fund now stands at $200 million.