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.
00:10PwC существ lah not only
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.
01:45Have a great глав six AM работ-skill.
01:46Anyone ever heard that came in a much?
01:4701.
01:482...
01:49Every single person will go over there, people believe it.
01:51Are you interested?
01:52What are you interested in?
01:54What does it more broadly mean for the consulting sector as a whole?
01:57And as you say, there's this.
01:59Specific to PwC, and then there's the broader macro going on right now with consulting.
02:04Where I believe activity has declined quite a lot.
02:07Right.
02:07So the ban was definitely.
02:09It was really a shock to the industry.
02:10I think it was a chance for them to review their practices.
02:14We know that some bids have become more competitive amid the slowdown.
02:19And there are broader layoffs.
02:21So I think they need to adapt to a changing.
02:24Environment, which is driven towards more implementation execution rather than just strategy.
02:29Consulting.
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