00:00Bloomberg has learned PwC executives have asked teams to resume pitching for
00:05work with Saudi Arabia's wealth fund as a one-year ban comes to an end.
00:10arry has prohibited the consulting firm from advisory and consulting services contracts.
00:15with the Saudis PIF. Let's get more now with Bloomberg's Omar El.
00:20Shmuri, first of all, I can't believe it's been a year where this year has gone.
00:25What sort of an impact has this ban had on PwC?
00:28Good morning.
00:30To put this in context, the PIF has been the entity anchoring.
00:35Saudi Arabia's economic transformation drive, and that has resulted in a boom for consulting services.
00:40Across the region, so PwC, for instance, made about two billion pounds in the fiscal year.
00:45And in June 2024, that was a 26% increase from the year before.
00:50Projecting similar results, but then the ban put a dent into these.
00:55You know, trajectories of growth, and it also came at the backdrop of a broader slowdown inside.
01:00So as a result, they've laid off about 1,500...
01:05members of their staff, including 60 partners.
01:07So that was quite a blow.
01:08Wow, okay, that is a substantial...
01:10So it's clearly had an impact on PwC.
01:12Do we have a better understanding?
01:15Do we have a better understanding of what exactly happened in order to understand how the issue was resolved?
01:20Right, so they haven't officially disclosed, both parties, the PIF and PwC.
01:25Right, so they haven't officially disclosed, both parties, the PIF and PwC.
01:25We know that PwC's global chairman, Mohamed Kande, flew to Riyadh for meetings with the...
01:30PIF to resolve the issue, but nonetheless, they still had to complete the year.
01:35So as of last week, we learned that they've resumed pitching to...
01:40the PIF, and they've been investing quite heavily in the kingdoms in terms of localization.
01:45.
01:45So we've been discussing drives and talent training programs, as well as moving the region...
01:50at Porto Studios recently opening a very big office in the capital city. Okay. And what is it more broad.
01:55We mean for the consulting sector as a whole. And as you say, there's the specific to people.
02:00And then there's the broader macro going on right now with consulting where I believe.
02:05Activity has declined quite a lot. Right. So the band was definitely a shock to the industry.
02:10I think it was a chance for them to review the practices. We know that...
02:15Like some bids have become more competitive, made the slowdown. And...
02:20There are broader layoffs. So I think they need to adapt to a changing environment.
02:25Which is driven towards more implementation execution rather than just strategy consulting.
02:29Yeah.
02:30.
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