Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed ewpartners has led a strategic investment of $48 million in financial services company Valuable Capital Group, which owns the first fully-licensed fintech company in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh-based ewpartners, formerly eWTP Arabia Capital, announced the deal at the PIF Private Sector Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday as its latest investment that helps promote Saudi Vision 2030 — a government programme dedicated to increasing Saudi Arabia’s diversification economically, socially, and culturally.
The deal aligns with the nation’s strategic goal of advancing fintech development and economic diversification, with fintech expected to contribute to 4.4% of Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2030, ewpartners said in a statement.
As the first fintech company to receive full licences from Saudi’s financial regulator, the Capital Market Authority (CMA), Valuable Capital Group’s subsidiary Sahm Capital offers financial services including trading, advisory, custody, investment management, and fund operations. It has accumulated over one million users as of December 31, 2024.
“This strategic investment reinforces our competitive edge and first-mover advantage, enabling us to deepen our focus on product development, R&D, security infrastructure, and fintech solutions,” said Jess Cheung, CEO of Valuable Capital Group.
Sahm Capital is poised to extend its digital gateway beyond brokerage services, venturing into other financial services such as investment banking, wealth management, and asset management. Its ambitions to expand product offerings are supported by the multinational regulatory compliance expertise of the parent group, whose other subsidiaries are licensed in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US.
With operations in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, and Saudi Arabia, Valuable Capital Group offers integrated, cross-market, and multi-asset investment services to individuals and corporations.
ewpartners’s strategic investment in Valuable Capital Group comes amid closing ties between Saudi Arabia and Greater China in the capital markets.
In September 2024, Saudi Arabia approved its first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking equities listed in Hong Kong, less than one year after Hong Kong launched Asia’s first ETF tracking Saudi equities. In early 2023, Saudi Tadawul Group, the country’s stock exchange operator, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its Hong Kong counterpart to explore cooperation opportunities in fintech, ESG, and cross-listings.
These initiatives “create broader international opportunities for Saudi fintech firms like Sahm Capital”, said ewpartners.
ewpartners, which has been active in Saudi Arabia since 2017, specialises in cross-border investments between Asia and the Middle East. It counts multiple sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), such as Saudi Arabia’s PIF and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), among its limited partners (LPs).
The firm primarily invests in industries and themes like digital infrastructure & solutions, advanced manufacturing, energy transition, logistics, and consumer enablement.
