Bloomberg

The venture arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has disclosed its ties to more than 50 venture capital and private equity firms including Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co., in one of the first public disclosures of its investments.

The website of Sanabil Investments, wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund, says it commits around $2 billion a year into “venture, growth and small buyout assets worldwide.” Other firms it names include Andreessen Horowitz, General Atlantic, Hellman & Friedman and Platinum Equity.

CVC and Apollo are also listed among buyout funds it invests in. Sanabil’s website notes half of its assets are allocated to venture capital, 30% to private equity and a fifth to a “liquid portfolio.”

The disclosure offers the most comprehensive accounting yet of the links some of the world’s biggest investment firms have to Saudi Arabia. The site also details Sanabil’s direct investments in companies like the scooter rental app Bird and Caffeine, a social media platform.

NYT

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Beijing on Thursday, in the highest-level meeting between the regional rivals since they cut ties seven years ago and a sign that China would continue to host talks that could shift the geopolitics of the Middle East.

In a joint statement, the two governments said that given their natural resources and economic potential, they saw “great opportunities to achieve shared benefits for their two peoples.” They said the ministers discussed issues including the resumption of flights and the reopening of diplomatic missions.

The meeting came after a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, mediated by China, was announced last month. The statement signaled that the agreement was moving forward as Saudi Arabia, a longtime American ally, forges more independent foreign and economic policies. 

WSJ

In an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, CIA Director William Burns expressed frustration with the Saudis, according to people familiar with the matter. He told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the U.S. has felt blindsided by Riyadh’s rapprochement with Iran and Syria—countries that remain heavily sanctioned by the West—under the auspices of Washington’s global rivals.

RFI

Chinese and French energy companies this week finalised the first-ever deal on liquified natural gas (LNG) in China settled in the renminbi yuan currency. The trade, involving 65,000 tons of LNG imported from the United Arab Emirates, marks a major step in Beijing's attempts to undermine the US dollar as universal "petrodollar" for gas and oil trade. 

The US had a chance and blew it.

The new comity could include Israel. Saudi will make the pitsch.