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
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