Saudi wealth fund PIF is world’s sixth biggest with $580b
Transfer of 4% Aramco stake to PIF helped with a $100b gain
Dubai: The Saudi Public Investment Fund has become the sixth largest sovereign wealth fund in the world after increasing its assets to $580 billion, according to the latest rating by the SWF Institute.
The fund’s assets increased by $100 billion this year, compared to $480 billion at the end of 2021, surpassing the Singaporean funds GIC and Temasek within 45 days, according to the Saudi newspaper - Okaz.
Aramco driven boost
This comes after Aramco transferred 4 per cent of its shares to the Public Investment Fund, bringing the assets of the fund to $580 billion, up from $480 billion, equivalent to an increase in assets by more than 20 per cent.
According to Okaz, transferring 4 per cent of the shares to the fund is equal to transferring 8 billion shares.
The PIF also increased its holding of US equities from $43.45 billion in Q3-2021 to $55.90 billion in Q4-2021, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund increased its stake in four companies:
- Visa;
- Pinterest;
- Farfetch Ltd; and
- Alibaba
On the other hand, the fund cut its stake in Beijing Ltd. and ProLogis Inc.
Top sovereign funds around the world
The Government Pension Fund of Norway ranked first as the largest sovereign fund in the world, with assets amounting to $1.4 trillion, followed by China Investment Corporation with assets worth $1.22 trillion, and the Kuwait Investment Authority with asset value exceeding $737.9 billion.