SAUDI Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund said returns rose last year driven by local investments and gains on its international portfolio.
The Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) annualised returns since 2017 rose to 8.7 per cent, compared with 8 per cent a year earlier, according to an annual report published on Monday (Aug 19). Performance was boosted by last year’s rally in global markets, with the S&P 500 Index returning 24 per cent in 2023.
Assets under management at the fund grew to US$760 billion at the end of last year, helped by the kingdom’s move to transfer a 4 per cent stake – worth over US$70 billion – in Saudi Aramco to one of the PIF’s subsidiaries in 2023.
International assets made up a fifth of total holdings, or 586 billion riyals (S$ 204 billion) at the end of 2023. That was up by more than 14 per cent from a year earlier, which the PIF said was “well ahead” of target – though those holdings accounted for 23 per cent of total assets a year earlier. The portion of the fund’s externally managed assets fell to 15 per cent from 17 per cent.
The fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a key vehicle for his efforts to reshape the Saudi economy and wean it off a reliance on oil sales.
Earlier this year, the kingdom transferred another 8 per cent stake in Aramco to the PIF, helping it get closer to a target of managing more than US$1 trillion of assets by 2025.
The fund swung to a profit last year, according to accounts published in July. It made US$25 billion from investment activities, compared to a loss of US$11 billion a year earlier. BLOOMBERG
