Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has temporarily barred global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) from securing advisory and consulting contracts, restricting its operations in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Executives at the PIF, which oversees more than 100 subsidiaries, have been instructed to halt awarding consulting projects to PwC until February 2026. The suspension does not impact PwC’s auditing services. The reason for the decision remains unclear.
PwC, which received a licence in 2023 to establish its regional headquarters in Riyadh, employs over 20,000 people across multiple locations in Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah, AlUla, Al Khobar, and Dhahran. Its non-auditing services cover capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and tax advisory.
The Middle East is the fastest-growing region for PwC UK, which oversees the firm’s business in Britain, the Middle East, and the Channel Islands. The region generated £1.97 billion ($2.5 billion) in revenue in the financial year ending June 2023, marking a 26% increase from the previous year.
The $925 billion PIF plays a pivotal role in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to diversify its economy beyond oil by investing in AI, clean energy, digitalisation, entertainment, sports, and tourism. As a major stakeholder in many of Saudi Arabia’s leading companies, the PIF has been a key driver of growth for global consultancy firms operating in the kingdom, including McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group.
The PIF is also leading Saudi Arabia’s green energy transition and giga projects such as the $1.5 trillion megacity Neom and AlUla, a UNESCO-listed heritage site being transformed into a major tourism destination.
