Saudi sovereign wealth fund posts $14.8 billion investment loss for 2022
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This year, the Saudi government transferred a further 4 per cent of energy giant Aramco - worth almost US$80 billion - to PIF.
PHOTO: AFP
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) reported a loss on investment activities of about US$11 billion (S$14.8 billion) in 2022 compared with a profit of US$19 billion in 2021 as global markets sank.
That meant the fund’s loss attributable to its owner was 36.6 billion riyals (S$13 billion) in 2022, down from a profit of 81.8 billion riyals, according to the wealth fund’s accounts published on Tuesday.
PIF’s total assets rose to about US$778 billion from US$676 billion.
PIF said it made a 25 per cent return in 2021 as global markets rallied, roughly in line with that of investors in the S&P 500 Index that year.
PIF did not disclose a comparable figure in its 2022 accounts, a year when the S&P dropped almost 20 per cent. The index is up about 15 per cent so far in 2023.
PIF is in the midst of a global investment spree after it was transformed from a domestically focused holding company into a sovereign fund in 2016.
In recent months it has grabbed global attention for a deal to merge its upstart LIV golf tournament with the PGA, part of a push by the kingdom to boost its soft power and improve its image internationally by investing in global sports.
During the course of 2022 the fund established the Sports Investment Company as a wholly owned subsidiary to invest in sports internationally and within the country.
In 2023, the Saudi government transferred a further 4 per cent of energy giant Aramco – worth almost US$80 billion – to PIF.
The fund also manages a US$35.6 billion portfolio of US equities that includes stakes in Lucid Group, Activision Blizzard and Uber Technologies, according to a regulatory filing for the end of the first quarter.
PIF has been becoming more transparent since it started tapping international debt markets in 2022.
Most sovereign wealth funds in the region, which control trillions of dollars, do not disclose much information on their investments or returns.
Borrowing by the fund reached US$85 billion at the end of 2022, according to the report.
It raised US$5.5 billion from a three-part green bond sale earlier in 2023. BLOOMBERG
