Saudi Sovereign Fund Grows Assets 19% to $913 Billion

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
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Saudi Sovereign Fund Grows Assets 19% to $913 Billion

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (Reuters) 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has continued to cement its role as a driving force behind the Kingdom’s economic transformation, posting record growth in managed assets and strong financial results in its 2024 annual report.

The figures show the fund now contributes 10% of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil GDP, with managed assets reaching SAR 3.42 trillion ($913 billion) and more than $171 billion invested in priority sectors since 2021.

According to the report, released Wednesday, PIF’s managed assets rose 19% year-on-year to SAR 3.42 trillion by the end of 2024, generating an average annual shareholder return of 7.2% since 2017. Revenues climbed 25% over the same period. Liquidity and cash positions remained stable, with the fund maintaining a robust balance sheet.

The report highlighted substantial progress in delivering on the fund’s strategic investment targets, reinforcing its status as one of the largest and fastest-growing sovereign wealth funds in the world. PIF’s cumulative contribution to non-oil GDP from 2021 to 2024 reached SAR 910 billion, with an expected total impact of SAR 1.2 trillion by the end of this year.

PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said 2024 marked “a new and promising phase of exceptional performance and qualitative innovation,” characterized by the systematic integration of artificial intelligence, smart automation, and advanced digital capabilities across all operations. He noted that this shift represents not just technological advancement, but a “transformational approach” in how PIF invests, operates, and delivers economic and social impact globally.

For his part, Chief Financial Officer Yasir Alsalman reported that SAR 213 billion were directed to priority sectors in 2024 alone, bringing total investments in such sectors since 2021 to over 642 billion riyals.

In turn, Acting Chief Operating Officer and Board Secretary General Maram Al-Johani said PIF maintained its long-term vision while strengthening its influence locally and internationally, continuing to lead Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification and generate sustainable returns.

The fund’s international portfolio expanded further in 2024, targeting sustainable returns through long-term investments and strategic partnerships in key global markets. PIF’s overseas investments aim to diversify assets and income streams, secure partnerships with major corporations and investors, and back advanced technologies that support Saudi Arabia’s economic ambitions and shape the future global economy.

PIF diversified its funding base in 2024, securing SAR 36.855 billion ($9.83 billion) in public loans and nearly SAR 26 billion ($7 billion) in private loans. The fund’s stability has earned global recognition, with Moody’s upgrading its credit rating from A1 to Aa3 in 2024, and Fitch affirming its A+ rating with a “stable” outlook.

Governance standards also drew praise. PIF scored 96% in the 2024 Governance, Sustainability and Resilience Index from Global SWF — a sharp improvement over 2021 — and ranked first worldwide among 200 sovereign investors, achieving 100% compliance in 2025. It also topped the global list of most valuable sovereign wealth fund brands, with a valuation exceeding SAR 4.13 billion, earning an A+ rating from Brand Finance.

 

 

 



UK Wage Growth Slows to Weakest in 5 Years

FILED - 17 February 2016, United Kingdom, London: A Job Centre Plus is pictured in this file photo from February 17, 2016. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 17 February 2016, United Kingdom, London: A Job Centre Plus is pictured in this file photo from February 17, 2016. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire/dpa
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UK Wage Growth Slows to Weakest in 5 Years

FILED - 17 February 2016, United Kingdom, London: A Job Centre Plus is pictured in this file photo from February 17, 2016. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 17 February 2016, United Kingdom, London: A Job Centre Plus is pictured in this file photo from February 17, 2016. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire/dpa

British wages rose at their slowest pace since late 2020 in the three months to January, according to official data which also suggested a weakening in employment might have bottomed out before the start of the war in the Middle East.

The figures would normally boost bets on the Bank of England cutting interest rates. But the central bank is widely expected to signal at 1200 GMT that it is waiting to see the impact of the war on Britain's economy before deciding its next move.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said Thursday's data would not change the BoE Monetary Policy Committee's immediate views.

"Priorities have shifted, with MPC members set to turn their attention to the new upside risks to the inflation outlook," she said. "This could see interest rates staying higher for longer, raising the prospect of a more pronounced loosening in the labor market over the coming months."

Last ⁠week ONS data ⁠showed zero growth in Britain's economy in January, but a surge in oil prices means an expected fall in inflation back towards its 2% target in April may prove more fleeting than the BoE had hoped.

The Office for National Statistics said regular earnings, which exclude bonuses, rose by 3.8% in the November-to-January period, the smallest increase since the three months to November 2020 and down from 4.1% in the final quarter of 2025.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected regular pay growth of 4.0%. Total pay growth, which includes bonuses, showed a similar trend, slowing to 3.9%.

The ONS data also ⁠showed Britain's unemployment rate - which is calculated from a survey that the ONS is still overhauling - held at 5.2%, its highest since the COVID-19 pandemic period but below a median forecast in the Reuters poll for a rise to 5.3%.

Unemployment for 16-24 year olds - a key focus of government concern - edged down to 16.0% from an 11-year high of 16.1% in the final quarter of 2025.

Separate, more timely tax office data, also released on Thursday, showed the number of people in payrolled employment rose by a provisional estimate of 20,000 people between January and February.

In January, payrolls rose by a revised estimate of 6,000 compared with a provisional estimate of a fall of 11,000.

The latest data and revisions make it the first time that there have been three consecutive monthly rises in payrolled employment since May 2024.

"Today's labor market data will make for some positive reading. After nearly a year of disappointment, signs of stabilization are emerging," Sanjay Raja, ⁠chief UK economist at Deutsche ⁠Bank, said.

Until this month, the BoE had been trying to gauge whether lingering inflation heat in the labor market or a weakening of hiring in recent months posed the bigger risk to the economy.

But new inflation pressures have emerged, caused by the jump in energy prices after the start of the war in the Middle East.

The BoE is expected to keep borrowing costs on hold on Thursday at the end of the MPC's March meeting which, until recently, had been expected to result in a quarter-point rate cut.

The ONS data showed private sector annual regular wage growth - a measure of inflation heat closely watched by the BoE - slowed to 3.3% in the three months to January from 3.4% in the three months to December, also its weakest since late 2020.

Last month, the BoE said pay growth needed to be around 3.25% to keep inflation at its 2% target.

Deutsche Bank's Raja said the figures showed wage growth was slowing by slightly more than the BoE had forecast, offering some relief from the worries about a new energy price shock coming from the US-Israeli war on Iran.

"This, we think, can allow the MPC to remain cool-headed as we brace for another inflation wave - at least for now," he said.


Morgan Stanley Joins Peers in Pushing Back Fed Cut Forecasts on Inflation Fears

FILE PHOTO: Morgan Stanley logo appears in this illustration taken December 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Morgan Stanley logo appears in this illustration taken December 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Morgan Stanley Joins Peers in Pushing Back Fed Cut Forecasts on Inflation Fears

FILE PHOTO: Morgan Stanley logo appears in this illustration taken December 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Morgan Stanley logo appears in this illustration taken December 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Morgan Stanley on Thursday joined Goldman Sachs and Barclays in pushing back its forecast for the US ​Federal Reserve's next interest rate cut to September from June after the central bank flagged inflationary risks amid the Middle East conflict.

The Wall Street brokerage now expects quarter-point reductions in September and December, revising its earlier forecast of reductions in June and September.

"In the near term, ‌higher energy prices ‌will push up overall inflation, ​but ‌it ⁠is ​too soon ⁠to know the scope and duration of the potential effects on the economy," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.

New projections show that Fed policymakers as a ⁠group anticipate the Federal Open Market Committee ‌will cut the policy rate ‌by a quarter percentage point ​before the end ‌of the year, while major Wall Street firms ‌still expect two rate cuts.

"A cautious Fed means delay. The primary risk to our view remains that rate cuts come later or not at all," Morgan ‌Stanley strategists said in a note.
"In the other direction, a second-round surge ⁠in oil ⁠prices could mean activity and labor markets weaken, prompting cuts."

Oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel due to the ongoing Middle East conflict that has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route that handles almost a fifth of the global oil trade.

Traders are currently pricing in over a 70% chance that the US central bank will ​hold rates steady ​in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.


Shell: Attack on Ras Laffan in Qatar Damaged Pearl GTL Facility

(FILES) This picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on February 6, 2017. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
(FILES) This picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on February 6, 2017. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
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Shell: Attack on Ras Laffan in Qatar Damaged Pearl GTL Facility

(FILES) This picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on February 6, 2017. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
(FILES) This picture shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, administrated by Qatar Petroleum, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the capital Doha, on February 6, 2017. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

Shell said Wednesday's attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City caused damage to the Pearl GTL (gas-to-liquids) facility, adding the fire was ⁠quickly put out, there ⁠were no reported injuries and Pearl is now in ⁠a "safe state.”

Shell has a 100% interest in Pearl GTL in Qatar, which has capacity to process up to 1.6 billion cubic ⁠feet ⁠per day of wellhead gas, converting it into 140,000 bpd of gas-to-liquids.