Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) assets under management exceeded 2.23 trillion riyals ($594.43 billion) in 2002, up 12.8 percent from 2021.
The investment fund is the instrument chosen by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to advance an economic agenda aimed at diversifying the economy and reducing dependence on oil.
On Sunday evening, the Saudi Investment Fund issued its annual report for the year 2022, after announcing earlier the establishment of “SARJ” for Sports Investments. This sports investment company aims to support and enable the growth of the sports sector in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and North Africa region.
SRAJ aims to invest in fan-related events and will employ advanced sports technologies to develop the sector, contributing to the Kingdom’s position as a sports and entertainment destination.
The fund said it achieved a total shareholder return of 8 percent and established 25 companies in 2022, creating 181,000 jobs and pumping 120 billion riyals that year into strategic sectors. The fund noted that 23 percent of its assets under management are international investments, 68 percent are local investments and the rest are in the treasury portfolio.
It added that 17 percent of its assets are managed externally and 83 percent are managed internally. The ongoing expansion of its three branch offices in London, New York and Hong Kong will support the Fund’s continued growth and make it the preferred choice for partnership with global investors.
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The Fund’s sources of funding came from retained earnings from investments, capital injected by the government, assets transferred to the Fund by the Government, as well as loans and debt instruments. The fund raised $5.5 billion in February from a green bond sale, after a first green bond offering in October raised $3 billion.
In addition, the IMF secured a $17 billion loan in November from a group of 25 banks, part of which was directed to refinance a loan it took in 2018.
The Saudi crown prince announced in February last year the transfer of four percent of oil giant Aramco’s shares, valued at about $80 billion, to the Public Investment Fund.
In April, another four percent of Aramco’s shares, also valued at about $80 billion, were transferred to Sanabel Investments, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund.
The fund continues its local investments in sectors and industries that will support the transformation of the local economy, by establishing new companies and investing billions of riyals in the Saudi market.
The Governor of the Public Investment Fund, Yasser Al-Rumayyan, stressed that the Fund was able to fulfill its tasks and enable the development and diversification of the local economy. He pointed out that investment, in line with the Fund’s strategic objectives, is critical in building new cities, industries and technologies that will shape a sustainable and more prosperous future for future generations.
Major projects have made remarkable progress over the past 12 months, with the Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of NEOM, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, announcing the masterplan and designs for The Line.
Al Rumayyan added that last year witnessed the launch of the integrated Roshn Bridal community (Alarous) inspired by historical architecture in Jeddah, with an area of more than 4 million square meters.
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