Saudi wealth fund assets grew $170 bln in 2023, driven by local investments
RIYADH, Aug 19 (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund grew its total assets under management (AUM) by almost 29% to around $765 billion last year, spurred by domestic investments in Saudi giga projects, its 2023 annual report showed.
Assets representing Saudi giga projects doubled to 241 billion riyals ($64 billion) from 121 billion riyals a year earlier, while development in other projects to diversify the economy away from oil also doubled to $251.32 billion from $125.26 billion at the end of 2022.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has led a spending spree to reduce the kingdom's oil dependency and launch national champions in sectors, including financial services, tourism, aviation and industry.
The increase in costs has piled pressure on the fund to deliver. Reuters reported earlier this year that it aims to focus on investments with a higher chance of success after scaling back some of its flagship giga projects.
The Line, a futuristic city between mirrored walls extending 170 kilometres into the desert within massive urban and industrial development project NEOM, is among the projects that have been revised.
The PIF made its mark on the global stage with high-profile deals, such as the purchase of the Newcastle United football team and its investments in Uber, the private equity firm Blackstone and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.
Since the end of last year, its assets under management have risen by around $160 billion to a total of around $925 billion, according to its website, following the transfer of an 8% stake in national oil champion Aramco 2223.SE, whose chairman Yasser al-Rumayyan is also the governor of the PIF, to the wealth fund in the first quarter of 2024.
The transfer gave PIF access to lucrative dividends, and the fund also raised $5 billion through a bond sale in January.
The website does not give further details of how the assets have grown.
The 2023 annual report showed that international investment continued last year and accounted 20% of overall AUM, while domestic investments accounted for 79% of the total.
($1 = 3.7522 riyals)
Reporting by Pesha Magid, additional reporting by Federico Maccioni; editing by Barbara Lewis
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
