Saudi Arabia on cusp of severing ties with LIV Golf: Report
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is on the cusp of cutting its backing for LIV Golf, as it tightens its belt amid the US-Israeli war on Iran and delayed megaprojects at home.
The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund could announce it was stepping away from LIV Golf as early as Thursday, taking a hit on its $5bn investment in the entity.
The report said PIF had been weighing an exit before the US-Israeli war on Iran began, but any decision would likely send a chill through the sports world and other entities seeking cash from Gulf sovereign wealth funds.
PIF is the main backer of LIV Golf, which has racked up major losses since its founding in 2021, and the move would likely spell its demise.
PIF’s bet on LIV Golf to rival the PGA Tour was one in a series of investments that were made in a bid to bolster the kingdom’s involvement in sports and entertainment, as it pushes to diversify its economy away from energy.
Even before the US-Israeli war on Iran, high-flying projects were being cancelled or massively scaled down. The kingdom’s finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said in December 2025 that it had “no ego” preventing it from reassessing projects.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia suspended construction of the Mukaab, a giant cube-shaped structure set to be built in downtown Riyadh. The kingdom also shelved plans to build a desert ski resort and a large dam for an artificial lake.
Because of its East-West pipeline running from the Gulf to the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia can bypass Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz. It is practically the only Gulf state exporting oil amid the war and is benefiting from higher oil prices.
But the conflict has also made it harder for Gulf states to present themselves as safe hubs for tourism and business.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, told Al Arabiya Business on Wednesday that the war on Iran was having an effect on PIF’s calculus, saying that “the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities”.
Rumayyan confirmed for the first time that a 170km straight-line city envisioned to be part of the larger Neom development was no longer a priority.
"There are directives to NEOM to reprioritize. Everyone thinks The Line is NEOM, but The Line is one project in NEOM," he said.
"Is it necessary to have The Line by 2030? I think no. It's good to have, but not a must-have," he said.
Cutting ties with LIV Golf would align with the kingdom’s efforts to keep more of its sovereign wealth fund cash at home. PIF is estimated to be worth $1 trillion.
Rumayyan said that PIF wanted 80 percent of its investments to go to local projects while it deployed 20 percent abroad, down from a high of 30 percent in recent years.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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