KSA’s SEC taps into EVs: The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) — which is majority owned by the kingdom’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), has acquired a 25% stake in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company in a transaction valued at SAR 254 mn (c. USD 67.7 mn), SEC said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The EV-focused company is a joint stock company that is wholly owned by the PIF, according to the disclosure.

The rationale: The move will pave the way for SEC to “operate and create partnerships to provide alternate current (AC) and direct current (DC) power charging infrastructure for EVs,” the disclosure said.

It’s been an eventful run for EVs in the kingdom: EV maker Lucid Group — which is backed by the PIF — inaugurated late last month its first overseas production facility in Jeddah’s King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) after obtaining the operating license for its manufacturing unit. The Advanced Manufacturing Plant (AMP-2) will contribute to Saudi Arabia’s target of having EVs make up 30% of new car sales in the kingdom by 2030. Earlier this year, the kingdom’s first EV brand Ceer — a JV between PIF and Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Company (Foxconn) — received in June a manufacturing license from KSA’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources for its planned EV production plant in KAEC.