Saudi PIF Operating Profit Doubles, Assets Hit $1.21 Trillion

The Public Investment Fund Tower at King Abdullah Financial District. (PIF)
The Public Investment Fund Tower at King Abdullah Financial District. (PIF)
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Saudi PIF Operating Profit Doubles, Assets Hit $1.21 Trillion

The Public Investment Fund Tower at King Abdullah Financial District. (PIF)
The Public Investment Fund Tower at King Abdullah Financial District. (PIF)

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has put its 2025 financial performance under the spotlight of global markets, publishing its audited consolidated financial statements on the London Stock Exchange in a move that reinforces its role as a driver of economic transformation and a global investor across continents.

The figures revealed an exceptional year for the fund. Net profit surged 152% to $17.36 billion, or 65.1 billion riyals, while total assets rose 5% to nearly $1.21 trillion, or 4.54 trillion riyals.

The jump was not simply the result of market swings. It reflected a flexible expansion strategy that balanced investment in future sectors, such as artificial intelligence through the launch of HUMAIN, with major domestic development projects, including Riyadh Expo 2030.

It also came alongside innovative green financing tools that strengthened foreign investor confidence in the fund’s financial position and long-term sustainability.

Operational efficiency drives record profit

The consolidated financial statements showed a sharp year-on-year improvement in profitability, mainly driven by stronger earnings from associates and a 9% drop in the fund’s administrative expenses. The decline pointed to higher operating efficiency and tight spending discipline.

Operating profit climbed to $20.8 billion, or 77.9 billion riyals, from $9.2 billion, or 34.6 billion riyals, in 2024, marking growth of more than 120%.

The gains were supported by a 9% increase in total revenue to $119.73 billion, or 449 billion riyals, from 413 billion riyals a year earlier, reflecting continued portfolio growth and stronger returns.

That performance fed directly into net profit for 2025, which jumped 152% to $17.36 billion, or 65.1 billion riyals, from 25.8 billion riyals in 2024. The result was more than double the previous year’s level.

The fund also maintained a high level of cash and cash equivalents, exceeding $93.33 billion, or more than 350 billion riyals, underscoring its ability to keep executing its investment strategy.

Asset growth and 2030 ambitions

The strong results come as the fund continues to expand its asset and investment base at speed. Assets have risen from about 720 billion riyals in 2017 to 4.54 trillion riyals, or $1.21 trillion, by the end of last year. The fund is targeting 10 trillion riyals by 2030, according to the Saudi Vision 2030 annual report.

The growth aligns with the fund’s new 2026-2030 strategy, announced at the start of this year. The strategy aims to shift from building strategic sectors to integrating economic ecosystems and accelerating growth. It places the private sector as a partner in creating value, not merely an implementer of projects, in line with the third phase of Vision 2030 and the push for deeper long-term investment partnerships.

PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the new strategy marked “a natural progression” from a phase of growth and expansion to a new phase focused on sustainable value, greater impact and higher investment efficiency.

He said the fund would transform the 13 strategic sectors in earlier plans into six integrated economic ecosystems built around companies with clear objectives. The focus would be on strengthening financial returns, maintaining investment efficiency, and continuously assessing the performance of investments and projects.

Under this vision, the fund’s investments are spread across three main portfolios: the Vision Portfolio, the Strategic Investments Portfolio and the Financial Investments Portfolio.

Backing future sectors

In future sectors, the fund moved in 2025 to accelerate artificial intelligence and advanced technologies through the launch of HUMAIN. The company invests across the AI value chain, including infrastructure, data centers, cloud capabilities, advanced models and applications.

To deepen that push, the fund signed a non-binding term sheet with Saudi Aramco under which Aramco would acquire a significant minority stake in HUMAIN, while PIF would retain the majority stake. The aim is to combine key assets and expand the company’s technical capabilities.

In future mobility and sustainability, Lucid Group, majority-owned by the fund, reported a 55% year-on-year rise in vehicle deliveries to 15,841 vehicles in 2025. The increase coincided with the launch of the Driving Force program in partnership with Formula E to expand science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, with a target of reaching more than 50,000 students in Saudi Arabia, the United States and the United Kingdom by the end of 2025.

Tourism and entertainment gain pace

On the domestic development front, the fund accelerated support for major local development and tourism projects while strengthening the wider economic ecosystem.

It launched Riyadh Expo 2030 Company to develop and operate the facilities of the first World Expo to be hosted by Saudi Arabia and to invest in those facilities over the long term. The project is expected to support sustainable tourism, create new opportunities for the private sector and boost its contribution to gross domestic product during construction, operation and beyond.

The year also brought major milestones in entertainment and luxury tourism. Qiddiya City announced the opening of the first Six Flags theme park outside North America, creating a distinctive destination in the kingdom. Red Sea Global also announced the official opening of AMAALA, its luxury coastal destination.

Alongside these major construction and development projects, the financial statements showed that the fund’s investment properties rose to $21.46 billion from $17.46 billion in 2024.

Green financing enters a new phase

The fund’s investment securities, valued at $576.4 billion, show a disciplined approach to diversifying risk by geography and currency to secure sustainable returns.

The Middle East and North Africa remained the largest exposure at $344.2 billion, followed by North American markets at $145.9 billion, European markets at $44.7 billion and Asian markets at $41.6 billion.

To support capital markets, the fund signed memorandums of understanding with global financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Franklin Templeton, to develop innovative investment strategies focused on the region.

In financing, the fund marked a new milestone with its first euro-denominated green bond issue, worth 1.65 billion euros. Demand was strong, with orders exceeding the amount offered by more than six times. The fund also launched its first commercial paper program as a short-term financing channel.

Private sector and local content

As part of its commitment to the domestic economy, the fund held the third edition of the PIF Private Sector Forum, bringing together portfolio companies and government entities to review opportunities in major projects.

The fund’s initiatives also continued to support localization, develop local suppliers and increase the private sector’s share in emerging projects. The aim is to ensure that the fund’s historic financial growth feeds directly into the structure of Saudi Arabia’s broader, more sustainable economy in the years ahead.

 



Diesel Prices Overtake Jet Fuel in Europe as Global Shortage Widens

Petrol prices are displayed at a filling station, as the price of oil and gas has surged amid the conflict in the Middle East, in London, Britain, March 5, 2026 REUTERS/Jack Taylor
Petrol prices are displayed at a filling station, as the price of oil and gas has surged amid the conflict in the Middle East, in London, Britain, March 5, 2026 REUTERS/Jack Taylor
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Diesel Prices Overtake Jet Fuel in Europe as Global Shortage Widens

Petrol prices are displayed at a filling station, as the price of oil and gas has surged amid the conflict in the Middle East, in London, Britain, March 5, 2026 REUTERS/Jack Taylor
Petrol prices are displayed at a filling station, as the price of oil and gas has surged amid the conflict in the Middle East, in London, Britain, March 5, 2026 REUTERS/Jack Taylor

Diesel cargoes are costing more than jet fuel in Europe for the first time in more than a year, LSEG data showed, as the continent replaces lower Middle East air fuel shipments with other sources of supply, but struggles to secure more diesel for industry and agriculture.

Europe has been able to pull in jet cargoes from the US and other countries like Nigeria as prices surged after the start of the Iran war, which disrupted crude and fuel supply. Global diesel supply tightened even further when Russia banned exports amid Ukrainian attacks on its refineries.

"We see a higher risk of persistent scarcity pricing in diesel than in crude heading into winter," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.

Europe boosted imports of jet fuel to 750,000 barrels per day in June — the highest since October 2025 — and a similar rate in July from 612,000 bpd in January, according to Kpler.

By contrast, European diesel imports have dropped to 1.56 million bpd in July from 1.97 million bpd in January. Against that backdrop, the price of diesel overtook that of jet fuel this week, LSEG data showed.

Diesel prices have resumed their rally in recent weeks amid an impasse in Iran peace talks and Russian export disruptions, and are now only 14% below their April peaks. Jet fuel prices, which have also risen in recent weeks, are meanwhile 25% below their March records.

"A brief period of cautious optimism for refined product markets has been quickly overtaken by renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, the collapse of Russian product supply and a diesel exports ban," said Karim Fawaz of S&P Global Energy.

WEAKENING JET DEMAND LIKELY WEIGHS ON PRICES, ANALYST SAYS

In a further sign of jet's relative weakness, it has dropped against the price of gasoil futures - the benchmark against which it is priced in Europe.

The price assessment of a jet cargo coming into Europe stood at a discount of $24 a metric ton to gasoil futures on August 10, according to LSEG.

This is the widest discount since July 2025, according to LSEG and Argus Media. At the height of the Iran war in March, LSEG and Argus assessed jet's premium at more than $500 a barrel. Weakening jet demand after the summer travel seasonal high and the expectation of higher European imports are likely weighing on prices, said Jay Maroo, analyst at Sparta Commodities.

 

 

 

 


Türkiye Central Bank Raises End-2026 Inflation Forecast to 28%, Leaves Target Unchanged

 Stray cats wait next to a fisherman at Karakoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP)
Stray cats wait next to a fisherman at Karakoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP)
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Türkiye Central Bank Raises End-2026 Inflation Forecast to 28%, Leaves Target Unchanged

 Stray cats wait next to a fisherman at Karakoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP)
Stray cats wait next to a fisherman at Karakoy sea promenade in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP)

Türkiye's central bank raised its inflation forecast for the end of 2026 to 28% from 26% but left its interim inflation target for the same period at 24%, Governor Fatih Karahan said on Thursday.

Presenting the central bank's quarterly inflation report ‌in Istanbul, Karahan said ‌the bank kept ‌its ⁠interim inflation target for ⁠end-2027 steady at 15% and the interim target for end-2028 stayed at 9%.

"The CBRT will ensure the tightness required by the projected disinflation path in line with ⁠the interim targets," Karahan said.

He said ‌the upward ‌revision of the end-2026 forecast was "driven ‌by the increase in the ‌assumption for Turkish lira-denominated import prices in view of the developments in prices of diesel oil, natural gas, and some ‌other commodities".

Last month, the central bank left its key interest ⁠rate ⁠at 37%, as expected, keeping borrowing costs unchanged for a fourth consecutive meeting as it monitors the inflationary impact of the Iran war.

Turkish consumer price inflation rose to 1.78% month-on-month in July while annual inflation dipped slightly from a month earlier to 31.75%.


UK Economy Slows Amid Political Unrest, Middle East War

A person cycles through parched parkland in Birmingham, Britain, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
A person cycles through parched parkland in Birmingham, Britain, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
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UK Economy Slows Amid Political Unrest, Middle East War

A person cycles through parched parkland in Birmingham, Britain, 13 August 2026. (EPA)
A person cycles through parched parkland in Birmingham, Britain, 13 August 2026. (EPA)

Britain's economy slowed in the second quarter, the national statistics office reported Thursday, saying that output remained "robust" despite domestic political unrest and fallout from the US-Iran war.

Gross domestic product increased 0.4 percent in the April-June period after GDP expansion of 0.6 percent in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Keir Starmer resigned as British prime minister in late June and was replaced around one month later by Andy Burnham, as the Labour government was overtaken in opinion polls by the hard-right party Reform UK.

Following Thursday's data, the country's new finance minister, John Healey, said that under Burnham, Labour was a "hands-on government, putting British interests first -- giving breathing space to those feeling the strain, making our country more resilient and bringing hope back".

Struggling already with elevated inflation, millions of Britons have seen their situation worsen after the US-Iran war sent energy costs soaring.

"I know people are worried about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on their cost of living, which has been too high for too long and it has added pressure on British businesses," Healey added in a statement.

- World Cup boost -

The latest GDP data showed that output from the services sector grew 0.5 percent in the second quarter, and construction also expanded while production flattened.

"Growth (overall) slowed in the second quarter of the year, following a strong start to 2026, but remained relatively robust," said ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown.

"Services were once again the main driver of growth," she added.

The second quarter had a strong finish, growing 0.3 percent in June after zero expansion in May and a slight dip in April, the ONS said.

It cited the recent football World Cup "as a reason for an increase in turnover in June... by businesses in industries such as wholesale, food and beverage serving activities, publishing activities, television production and advertising".

But Stuart Morrison, research manager at the British Chambers of Commerce, said in a statement that "the headline figures shouldn't disguise the cocktail of cost pressures choking long-term business growth".

He said Healey's first budget, due October 28, "must be a game changer for stronger, sustainable growth", adding that Britain needed "measures that boost trade, investment and productivity".

Burnham has so far concentrated on easing the cost of living for households, with tax on their electricity bills set to be removed this winter.

The Bank of England recently warned that British inflation was set to rise as the Middle East war keeps energy prices high.