The total assets of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have surged by $163.6 billion to $940.26 billion, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute said in its latest update.
 
The growth in PIF’s assets is attributed to Saudi Arabia’s transfer of an 8% stake in oil giant Aramco to the fund’s portfolio companies. The fund rose one rank to become the fifth-largest globally.
 
The stake was estimated at $163.6 billion, according to Aramco’s market capitalisation, LSEG data showed.
 
PIF directly owns a 4% stake in Aramco, which was transferred in 2022, and an additional 4% indirectly, which was transferred last year to its wholly-owned unit Sanabil Investments.

The top four SWFs globally are Norway Government Pension Fund Global ($1.65 trillion), China Investment Corporation ($1.35 trillion), SAFE Investment Company ($1.09 trillion) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($993 billion).

Following the latest transfer, the state holds 82.186% of Aramco.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)