According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has seen a significant increase in its total assets, reaching $940.26 billion after a surge of $163.6 billion.

This growth can be attributed to Saudi Arabia’s decision to transfer an 8% stake in oil giant Aramco to the portfolio companies of the PIF. As a result, the PIF has risen to become the fifth-largest Sovereign Wealth Fund worldwide.

The value of the stake transferred was estimated at $163.6 billion based on Aramco’s market capitalization, according to LSEG data.

The 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 four largest Sovereign Wealth Funds globally are the 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 this latest transfer, the state now holds an 82.186% stake in Aramco.

About Saudi Aramco outside of the PIF transfer:

Saudi Aramco, based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is the world’s largest oil producer. The company is primarily state-owned and has been officially named the Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It is considered the world’s most profitable company, surpassing even tech giants such as Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL).

In 1933, the Saudi Arabian government and the Standard Oil Company of California signed a concession agreement, which led to the establishment of Saudi Aramco. The company started drilling operations soon after and began commercial oil production in 1938.

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Saudi Arabia has recently increased its stake in oil giant Aramco by transferring an 8% stake to the Public Investment Fund.

With this move, the PIF’s direct and indirect holding in Aramco has doubled, which is a part of the kingdom’s plan to reduce its reliance on oil and diversify its economy.

According to LSEG data, this stake is worth around $163.6 billion based on Aramco’s current market capitalization.

The PIF already owned a 4% stake in Aramco, which was directly transferred in 2022, and another 4% indirectly transferred to Sanabil, which is wholly owned by PIF.

Reuters had previously reported that Saudi Arabia is planning to sell more shares of Aramco, which will help finance the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program. Aramco raised a record $29.4 billion from its initial public offering before the pandemic.

The PIF declined to comment on which entities the shares would be transferred to. However, the transfer is in line with Saudi Arabia’s long-term initiatives to diversify the national economy, expand investment opportunities, and boost the country’s economy.

More on Saudi Aramco:

According to the state news agency SPA, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs PIF, stated that “the transfer will also solidify PIF’s strong financial position and credit rating.”

PIF is the centerpiece of the de facto ruler’s ambitious plan to diversify the economy by building “giga projects” and new industries.

It has transformed from a sleepy sovereign investor into a global investment vehicle that makes multi-billion-dollar bets on various sectors such as technology and sports.

PIF invested $31.5 billion last year, making it the world’s top spending sovereign wealth fund. Before the new transfer, it had roughly $700 billion in assets under management.

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