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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has gone on an international shopping spree after it was announced shares in a wide-ranging pick of US stocks. The move brought the fund's investment portfolio’s market value to a cool $40.8 billion at the end of Q2.
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A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that the PIF snapped up 213,000 class A shares in Alphabet (GOOGL, $121.70), 4.7 million class A shares in Zoom (ZM, $109.19) and 1.8 million shares in Microsoft (MSFT, $292.71). It also acquired shares in JPMorgan (JPM, $123.63) and BlackRock (BLK, $757.07), buying 3.9 million shares and 741,693 shares respectively.
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PIF, manages $620 billion in assets, is at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s plans to transform the economy by creating new sectors and diversifying revenues away from oil.
Why it matters
Recent years have shown PIF pursue a two-prong strategy which seeks to build a stable portfolio of investments while simultaneously investing in domestic projects. The overall goal is to reduce the Kingdom's dependence on oil and boost the fund to hit a reported 10 trillion riyal. Domestic projects such as the futuristic desert city Neom have gained international attention, especially with eye-catching and ambitious designs.
