RIYADH — The gains of Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, have exceeded $22 billion from its investment in electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. after the latter's debut listing in Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares of Lucid were trading higher Monday following the company's merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital Corp IV. PIF confirmed that its investment a few years ago in Lucid company reflects its strategy of investing in future opportunities that provide growth in returns. "Investment in Lucid is a step towards diversifying the returns for the Saudi sovereign fund and for the Kingdom as a whole." The Lucid company's stock recorded a strong start after it was listed on the Nasdaq, through the SPAC deal, and closed, up 11 percent to $26.8, bringing the company's market value close to $40 billion. Lucid is the American competitor to Telsa, and PIF has benefited from investing early in it, as it owns about 62 percent of its shares. With Monday's gains, the Saudi sovereign fund has achieved investment gains of more than $22 billion. Lucid had agreed to go public in February this year through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IV. The deal gave the combined company a pro-forma equity value of $24 billion. Lucid's listing is a huge dividend for PIF, which had invested more than $1 billion in the company in 2018 for a substantial stake. PIF, BlackRock and others in February invested another $2.5 billion in Lucid as part of the merger. The Lucid stock was received with great momentum, as it closed up by 11 percent to reach the level of $26.83. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said the company is still on track to achieve major milestones, producing 577 cars this year, and plans to produce up to 20,000 cars next year. Rawlinson said the coronavirus pandemic has caused big problems for automakers and their suppliers, including Lucid. After the Nasdaq trading bell rang on Monday, Lucid offered rides in its dream car parked in front of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange near Times Square, Manhattan.
