PIF launches Tawrid to bring supply-chain financing to Saudi companies
The platform has begun operating under a Saudi Central Bank sandbox permit and has signed binding agreements with four banks and two corporate groups.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Tawrid begins operations after sandbox permit
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has set up Tawrid Company for Financing Solutions, a digital platform that will sell supply-chain financing products to companies operating in the kingdom. The fund announced the launch on Sunday, after the platform received a permit from the Saudi Central Bank to work inside its regulatory sandbox.
Tawrid is already live. It links buyers, suppliers and funders through a single digital venue, and its product set includes early settlement against approved invoices. PIF frames the platform as a way for businesses to expand, use working capital more efficiently and manage liquidity better. Small and medium-sized enterprises stand to gain the most, the fund said. Banks registered on the network will be able to deal with registered suppliers.
Binding agreements are in place with Gulf International Bank, Saudi National Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, ROSHN Group and Nesma & Partners.
PIF describes the launch as part of its effort to lift the private sector's share of work on its projects and portfolio companies, and to widen the private sector's part in the local economy. Financial services, it said, is a strategic enabler across the six economic ecosystems named in its 2026-2030 strategy.
“Tawrid will make Saudi supply chains stronger and more resilient by further enabling companies to access financing and improve their liquidity management. Its supply-chain financing products will enable businesses to operate with greater agility and efficiency, creating opportunities for the Saudi private sector in particular,” said Sultan Alsheikh, head of Financial Institutions in MENA Investments at PIF.
Regulator drafts rules for the sector
The launch lands alongside a wider move by SAMA to formalize supply-chain finance. In late August the central bank opened public consultation on proposed “Draft Rules for Engaging in Supply Chain Finance,” which set operational, financial and risk-management requirements for participants.
Under the draft, dedicated supply-chain finance firms would need paid-up capital of at least $8 million, or SAR 30 million. Asset-light platforms that only act as intermediaries or brokers would need at least $530,000, or SAR 2 million. Total outstanding financing would be limited to eight times a company's paid-up capital plus reserves. Exposure to a single recourse party would be capped at 10% of capital, and 25% for a connected corporate group.
The proposal also covers governance. Providers would have to run anti-fraud controls aimed at stopping the same invoice from being financed across several platforms, keep transaction records for at least ten years, and adopt standardized methods covering factoring and reverse factoring.
PIF's own numbers
PIF reported in August that revenue rose 9% year on year to $120 billion in 2025, with net profit more than doubling to $17 billion. The fund credited maturing portfolio companies with stronger contributions, along with higher dividends and returns from financial investments.
Assets under management ended 2025 above $900 billion, against roughly $530 billion in 2021 and $150 billion in 2015. The figure compares with $913 billion at the close of 2024.
