UPDATE 1-Saudi $5 bln state investment co to launch next wk

(Adds additional comment by PIC official)

RIYADH, April 28 (Reuters) - A new $5.33 billion investment company owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, will start operations next week, a senior Saudi official said on Tuesday.

The government announced last year its intention to set up the firm, called Sanabil al-Saudia, with a mandate to invest in equities, bonds, real estate, foreign currencies and commodities in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

"It is expected that Sanabil's advisers will begin work next week," Mansour al-Maiman, secretary-general of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the finance ministry's investment arm, told a news conference.

"We will work together next week with consultants to prepare for launching the company," Maiman told Reuters later on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia's state investments abroad have so far been managed by the kingdom's central bank, which gives few details of its investment strategy. (Reporting by Souhail Karam, Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Macdonald) ($1=3.750 Saudi Arabian Riyal)