Saudi Arabia backs PwC as kingdom continues to ramp up spending

Mohammed bin Salman is transforming the Gulf state through projects funded by the State Investment Fund, his massive sovereign wealth fund. Credit: SAUDI PRESS AGENCY/Reuters

PwC has benefited significantly from Saudi Arabia's global spending spree as the Gulf state seeks to develop its economy beyond oil and gas.

Strong demand for her advice from clients in the Middle East helped increase the company's share by 30%. Big Four consulting revenues soared last year, new reports show.

Kevin Ellis, chairman of PwC, told the Telegraph: “Saudi Arabia is the biggest driver in the Middle East, although other parts of the Middle East The East are [also] good.”

“You have the transformation of oil. In the Middle East, they spend a lot of money on this and move faster with the ESG transformation, like with Neom.”

Neom is the name of the new city Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to build. build near the Red Sea in a desert the size of Belgium.

The project is estimated at $500 billion and is the centerpiece of the Crown Prince's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Kingdom away from oil and gas.

Large-scale projects such as the planned NEOM city are part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. Credit: AFP

PwC did not disclose what specific projects it was working on with Saudi Arabia. Public documents show that he partnered with the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF), his huge sovereign wealth fund.

PIF's most high-profile investments include Newcastle United, which was bought by a Saudi-led consortium in the LIV golf tournament in 2016.

Successful business in the Middle East has helped PwC UK, a corporate in charge of the region to increase consulting revenue by 30% to £1.7bn at the end of the year. in June.

Revenue across PwC in the UK, including the Channel Islands, up 16% to £5.8bn in 2023.

Profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn after a one-off windfall from the sale. of its global mobility practice in 2022.

The company's 1,057 partners each earned an average of £906,000 last year, down 1.5% from 2022.

PwC employs about 26,000 people in the UK and hired 1,600 graduates in the twelve months to June.

Mr Ellis, who previously said employees should come to the office to avoid being replaced by artificial intelligence , said that recent graduates have difficulty with «soft skills».

He said: “The generation that faced the biggest challenges due to COVID was the younger generation because it affected their education and their ability to learn from others. Soft skills are one of the most important things we encourage them to acquire and learn.

“We now have five generations of people on our team. I think it's very important for a business like ours to get people together in the office and learn face to face.»