The Saudi Public Investment Fund's ownership of US stocks has nearly tripled.
According to Arabiya Net, the fund added to its holdings the shares of Alibaba Group, Wal-Mart and Pinterest; This brings the value of his shares to $43.45 billion in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $16 billion in the previous quarter, according to a filing by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other stocks bought included Just Eat Takeaway.com and Ballard Power Systems.
The Public Investment Fund manages $430 billion in assets, transforming the Saudi economy by creating new sectors and diversifying revenues away from oil.
The Public Investment Fund also owns a 62.72% stake in electric car company Lucid, which has a market capitalization of about $71 billion, which represents a significant increase in value since the end of September .
Diego Lopez, managing director at Global SWF, which specializes in industry data, said the third-quarter number is much larger than the second quarter, but most of the increase is due to the initial public offering. for Lucid Motors in July.
If you isolate the effect of Lucid, US stock holdings increased by only 11%, from $15.9 billion to $17.7 billion.
Lucid's July listing was a huge dividend for Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which invested more than $1 billion in the company in 2018 for a large stake and invested More in February. The Public Investment Fund also owns a 3.75% stake in Uber.
The Public Investment Fund is pursuing a two-pronged strategy, building an international portfolio of investments while also investing locally in projects that will help reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on Oil.
While the PIF's strategy in 2020 seemed to focus on short-term gains, we saw a change in 2021, with only one investment withdrawn so far, Lopez said. , adding that the focus is on private partnerships.
The Public Investment Fund has also invested $45 billion in Softbank's first $100 billion technology fund.
The Public Investment Fund has beefed up its strength from several sources of funding in recent years, including transferring $40 billion from central bank reserves last year.
