Hassana, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia's main pension fund, is looking into becoming an anchor investor in Brookfield's new $2 billion Middle East fund, it said in a statement on Thursday.

That would see Hassana joining the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which said on Wednesday it was backing the new fund, Brookfield Middle East Partners, which will target half its investments in Saudi Arabia. PIF's undisclosed anchor investment was a non-binding agreement.

Hassana could allocate up to $500 million to the fund, in addition to Brookfield's own $500-million commitment, the statement said.

The fund will target buyouts, structured solutions and other investment opportunities across a range of sectors including industrials, consumer and business services, technology and healthcare.

Hassana has become an increasingly active global investor since the merger of the kingdom's General Organization of Social Insurance and the Public Pension Agency in 2021.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by Helen Popper)