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Saudi investment fund hires US PR firm to create distance from crown prince

New York-based Karv Communications will be paid $120,000 a month to “create a clear distinction” between the $200 billion fund and its embattled chairman.
TOPSHOT - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the Future Investment Initiative FII conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018. - The summit, nicknamed "Davos in the desert", has been overshadowed by growing global outrage over the murder of a Saudi journalist inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)        (Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia's $200 billion public investment fund has signed a New York public relations firm to try to distance the fund from the country's embattled crown prince as it seeks to overhaul the kingdom's oil-based economy.

The fund's managing director, Yasir al-Rumayyan, signed a $120,000-a-month contract with KARV Communications on Feb. 16, according to newly uploaded lobbying filings. The firm is tasked with providing “investor and public relations advice and counsel by providing outreach and relationship-building to various stakeholders in business and the media.”

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