Via Matthew Martin, Alex Dooler and Christine Burke in msn.com: Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund has temporarily banned PwC from advisory and consulting services contracts, people familiar with matter said, halting the firm’s progress in one of the world’s most lucrative markets. Executives at the $925 billion Public Investment Fund and its more than 100 subsidiaries have been told to stop handing out consulting projects to PwC until February 2026, the people said, declining to be identified as the information is confidential. The firm’s auditing projects will not be affected, they said. The PIF did not explain reasons behind the move in messages sent to its portfolio companies. Representatives for the fund declined to comment, while a spokesperson for PwC didn’t respond to requests for comment. The PIF’s decision comes two years after PwC received a license to open its regional headquarters in the kingdom, where it employs more than 2,000 people across Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla, Al Khobar and Dhahran. In the Middle East, the company operates from more than 20 locations. PwC’s non-audit services span areas like mergers and acquisitions and tax advisory, alongside its strategy and consulting work. For its most recent fiscal year, the Middle East was the fastest-growing geography within PwC UK, the corporate entity that includes the region.
