Saudi Arabia's $325-billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) seems to be on a buying spree amid the pandemic. National British daily The Telegraph has reported that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is building a stake in BT by buying shares on the open market.

According to the report, three sources close to BT said that the PIF has been buying up shares on the open market in recent weeks.

Both companies declined to comment to the Telegraph.

The investment comes with the British multinational telecommunications company close to its lowest ebb in a decade. A combination of badly dented market confidence in its prospects and the broader coronavirus slump have left the former state telecoms monopoly with a stock market valuation of only £11.7bn, less than it paid in 2016 to ­acquire its mobile arm EE, The Telegraph reported.

Last week, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) said, PIF, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, will invest INR 11,367 crore ($1.5 billion) for 2.32 percent of RIL's digital unit, Jio Platforms.

Saudi sovereign PIF is estimated to own combined assets of nearly $400 billion. Its investment in Jio Platforms is at an equity valuation of INR 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise valuation of INR 5.16 lakh crore, a statement from RIL said.

(Writing by Seban Scaria, editing by Daniel Luiz)

seban.scaria@refinitiv.com,

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