50% Off! Beat the market in 2025 with InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Saudi PIF nearly triples U.S. stock holdings; adds Walmart, Pinterest

Published 11/15/2021, 05:07 PM
Updated 11/16/2021, 12:16 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The company sign of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is seen outside its Beijing headquarters in China June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
BLDP
-
WMT
-
BABA
-
SFTBY
-
UBER
-
PINS
-

By Saeed Azhar

DUBAI (Reuters) -The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, nearly tripled its holdings of U.S.-listed stocks to $43.45 billion in the third quarter, adding shares of Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Pinterest (NYSE:PINS).

Its U.S.-listed stock holdings in the quarter ended Sept. 30 increased from nearly $16 billion in the prior quarter, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Other stocks it bought included Just Eat Takeaway.com and Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP).

The PIF, which manages $430 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.

The PIF also owns a 62.72% stake in electric car company Lucid, which has a market value of about $71 billion, a significant boost in value from the end of September.

"The Q3 figure is indeed significantly larger than Q2, but most of the increase is due to Lucid Motors' IPO in July," said Diego Lopez, managing director at Global SWF, an industry data specialist.

"If you isolate the effect of Lucid, the U.S. equity holdings increased only 11%, from $15.9 billion to $17.7 billon."

Lucid’s listing in July was a huge dividend for the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which invested more than $1 billion in the company in 2018 for a substantial stake and invested more in February. The PIF also owns a 3.75% stake in ride-sharing company Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER).

The PIF is pursuing a two-pronged strategy, building an international portfolio of investments while also investing locally in projects that will help reduce Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil.

"While PIF's strategy in 2020 seemed to be focused on short-term gains, we’ve seen a change in 2021, with only one divestment so far," Lopez said, adding that the focus is moving towards private partnerships.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The company sign of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is seen outside its Beijing headquarters in China June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

PIF has also invested $45 billion in Softbank (OTC:SFTBY)'s inaugural $100 billion technology fund.

The PIF has boosted its firepower from several funding sources in recent years, including loans and a $40 billion transfer from central bank reserves last year.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.