KSA’s sovereign fund may buy stake in Chinese EV maker by end of year: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is eyeing a USD 250 mn stake in Chinese electric car manufacturer Human Horizons, anonymous sources familiar with the private discussions told Bloomberg. The agreement may be reached before the end of the year subject to the finalization of the terms, the sources said, adding that PIF may buy into the Shanghai-based firm at a USD 3 bn valuation.

Human Horizons has been on the lookout for private investors: The Chinese EV manufacturer has been considering raising as much as USD 1 bn from private investors to bolster growth, the sources told the news outlet. The company is currently in talks with UBS Group and Morgan Stanley on a potential initial public offering.

KSA already has a USD 5.6 bn EV partnership with Human Horizons: Saudi Arabia’s Investment Ministry signed a USD 5.6 bn agreement with Human Horizons in June to develop, manufacture, and sell electric vehicles. No details regarding the location of the facility or a timeline for the launch of the electric vehicles have been announced yet.

And has recently built a few more partnerships with other EV manufacturers: Last month, PIF and Hyundai Motor Company signed a JV agreement to establish a USD 500 mn highly automated vehicle manufacturing plant in the kingdom. PIF has also established Saudi Arabia’s first national EV brand Ceer in partnership with Foxconn, as well as invested in US-based Lucid Motors. In September, Lucid announced that it opened its first international EV plant in Saudi Arabia’s KAEC with plans to eventually produce up to 155k vehicles per year.

Will the investment in Human Horizons be made through PIF’s newly founded EV investment company? In October, PIF launched a new investment company, Tasaru Mobility Investments, focused on strengthening the local supply chain for electric and autonomous vehicles. The company was set up to establish partnerships with both local and global private sector companies to improve the localization of manufacturing and increase the adoption of the latest technologies.

About Human Horizons: Human Horizons is a Chinese developer of autonomous driving technologies and manufacturer of electric cars under the HiPhi brand, which was the first domestic product to make top sales for luxury electric cars in China. The company has centers in the US, Germany, and Japan. It is unclear whether the new Saudi partnership will include the manufacture of the HiPhi EV.