PIF ends temporary ban on PwC advisory bidding

A one-year ban preventing British consultancy PwC from bidding for advisory and consulting contracts with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reportedly ended.

The sovereign fund had temporarily barred PwC from securing advisory and consulting contracts from its more than 100 subsidiaries until February 2026. Auditing projects were excluded from the prohibition.

PwC’s global chairman Mohamed Kande flew to Riyadh for meetings with the wealth fund after the imposition of the ban, Bloomberg news agency said, quoting unidentified sources.

The Middle East generated nearly £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in revenue for PwC in the 12 months to June 30, 2024. 

Although the reason for the ban was not officially disclosed, the UK’s Financial Times reported that PIF was irked by an attempt by PwC to poach a top auditor from one of its subsidiaries, Neom.

The consultancy opened its regional headquarters in Riyadh last month and has been supporting efforts to boost localisation.

PwC named Laura Hinton as a new senior partner to lead its regional operations with over 11,000 employees, the report said.

Further reading:

• PIF shifting $12bn gaming portfolio to Savvy 
• PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs
• PIF plans Manara Minerals spinoff to move beyond investing