Saudi Arabia names new investment minister as Vision 2030 funding lags

Saudi Arabia has appointed Fahd bin Abduljalil bin Ali Al-Saif as its new minister of investment, replacing Khalid Al-Falih, in a royal decree issued Thursday that relieved Falih of his post and named him minister of state. The leadership change comes as the kingdom struggles to meet Vision 2030 targets: inbound foreign direct investment totaled $31.7 billion in 2024, well short of the government’s $100 billion annual goal by 2030. Saif joins the Investment Ministry from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s $925 billion sovereign wealth fund, where he led the investment strategy and economic insights division since 2024.

"Khalid Al-Falih is an excellent leader; I am sure he will be put to work on the Council of Ministers," Karen Young, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor.

Context and background

The ministerial change comes amid a wider reassessment of Saudi priorities as megaproject activity has slowed and foreign inflows lag. The PIF is expected to unveil a 2026-2030 strategy this week, Reuters reported, and sources told the newswire the fund soft-launched elements of the strategy with key investors on the sidelines of a Riyadh conference. Analysts say the revised roadmap will emphasize artificial intelligence, industry, minerals and tourism while recalibrating costly real estate megaprojects such as The Line in Neom.

• Fahd bin Abduljalil bin Ali Al-Saif: head of investment strategy and economic insights at PIF since 2024; former executive roles at Saudi British Bank and HSBC; former head of the Saudi Debt Management Office and adviser to the finance minister.
• Khalid Al-Falih: served as CEO of Saudi Aramco from 2009 to 2015; minister of health in 2015; minister of energy, industry and mineral resources in 2016; minister of investment since 2020 before being reassigned to minister of state.
• Financial context: inbound FDI of $31.7 billion in 2024 versus a $100 billion annual target for 2030; Bloomberg estimated roughly 60% of Saudi fiscal income last year came from crude oil sales.

Outlook

Observers say the ministerial swap may be coordinated with the PIF’s strategic pivot. “There seems to have been a reassessment of priorities and allocation of resources, so it could be that changing the minister is part of this broader process,” Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East fellow at the Baker Institute, told Al-Monitor.

Reports of scale-backs across Neom and other megaprojects have accumulated in recent months: on Jan. 24 Riyadh announced the indefinite postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games planned for Tojena, the Neom ski resort; on Jan. 25 the Financial Times reported broader cuts at Neom after years of delays and ballooning costs. Multiple sources interviewed by news outlets said the new PIF strategy will likely focus on localizing supply chains and driving investment into manufacturing and project supply rather than relying on expensive imports for construction.

The appointment of Saif, with a background in sovereign fund strategy and public debt management, signals a possible shift toward tighter investment prioritization as Saudi Arabia seeks to close gaps in Vision 2030 funding while the PIF retools its role as the main engine of the kingdom’s economic transformation.