PIF, SoftBank in early funding talks for mega solar project

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp have started initial talks with banks about potential funding for a multi-billion-dollar solar power project planned in the Kingdom, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The discussions come after an agreement was signed in March between the two entities to produce up to 200 gigawatts by 2030.

“The two companies had started preliminary talks in the past few weeks with Saudi Arabian and some international banks to assess which financing tools would be available for a project of that size,” sources told the news agency. 

In March, SoftBank chief executive officer Masayoshi Son said the initial phase of the project, for 7.2 GW of solar capacity, will cost $5 billion, with $1 billion coming from SoftBank's Vision Fund and the rest from project financing.

The total investment total for the entire project is estimated to be around $200 billion.