The Saudi Public Investment Fund’s 2023 report showed an increase in total assets under management to about $766 billion by December 31, 2023, an increase of 29 percent over 2022, driven by local investments in giant Saudi projects. The average total shareholder return on an annual basis amounted to 8.7 percent since the start of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 Realization Program.
The total value of assets managed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund rose by about $160 billion to $925 billion last July, which represents an increase of about 21 percent from what it was at the end of 2023, after the transfer of an eight percent stake in the national oil giant Aramco to the fund in the first quarter of 2024.
Revenues witnessed a qualitative leap during the past year, exceeding $88.3 billion, compared to $44 billion in 2022, an increase of nearly 101 percent.
Assets representing Saudi mega projects nearly doubled to 241 billion riyals ($64 billion) from 121 billion riyals a year earlier, while development in other projects aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil also doubled to $251.32 billion from $125.26 billion at the end of 2022.
The fund has led a spending spree to reduce the kingdom's dependence on oil and launch leading national companies in sectors including financial services, tourism, aviation and industry.
The PIF has made its mark on the global stage with high-profile deals including the purchase of Newcastle United football team and investments in Uber, Blackstone private equity and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.
The transfer of this stake allowed the fund to obtain abundant profits, and it also raised five billion dollars from a bond sale in January.
The fund's website does not provide further details on how assets will grow.
The 2023 annual report showed that international investment continued last year and constituted 20 percent of the total assets under management, while local investments constituted 79 percent of the total.
The Fund also contributed to the creation of 730,000 direct and indirect jobs by the end of 2023, noting that the total number of jobs created by the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 763,000 jobs.
The report discussed the ratings it received, including an A1 rating with a positive outlook from Moody’s, and an A+ rating with a stable outlook from Fitch.
