Saudi Investment Fund Seizes International Opportunities

Saudi Investment Fund Seizes International Opportunities
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Saudi Investment Fund Seizes International Opportunities

Saudi Investment Fund Seizes International Opportunities

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has been lately active buying shares from global companies in the fields of aviation, banking, social media, and entertainment.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made use of the decline in the nominal and market values of international companies and institutions due to the global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The $300 billion PIF has been buying minority stakes in companies across the world, taking advantage of market weakness in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the PIF bought stakes in companies including Facebook Inc., Boeing Co., and Citigroup Inc.

It bought a $713.7 million stake in Boeing, $495.8m holding in Disney and $521.9m in Facebook stock in the first quarter of 2020, according to a quarterly disclosure on the SEC.

The PIF disclosed on Friday an $827.7m investment in British oil giant BP via American Depository Receipts (ADRs) listed in the US, $487.6m in Bank of America, and $522m in Citigroup.

Other holdings disclosed by the fund include $513.9m in Marriott International and $78.4m in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Speaking at a Future Investment Initiative Institute virtual event in April, PIF's Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan said the fund was looking into investment opportunities in areas such as aviation, energy, and entertainment, adding that there would be a lot of potential for investment opportunities once economies start to reopen.

The PIF has recently purchased an 8.2 percent stake in US cruise liner operator Carnival Corporation, which has been hit by the coronavirus crisis, sending its shares surging at least 20 percent higher.

The Saudi fund bought stakes in Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Eni, and Equinor earlier this year, a source familiar with the transactions told Reuters on April 9.

The SEC filing on Friday showed it had a $483.6 million stake in Shell, a $222.3 million holding in Total and a $481 million stake in Suncor Energy.

An earlier filing in Norway had shown the PIF had a 0.3 percent stake in oil and gas firm Equinor.

PIF already has a $2 billion stake in Uber Technologies and electric car company Lucid Motors. It used to own a small stake in electric carmaker Tesla, but the latest filing did not show any exposure.

“PIF is a patient investor with a long-term horizon. As such, we actively seek strategic opportunities both in Saudi Arabia and globally that have strong potential to generate significant long-term returns while further benefiting the people of Saudi Arabia and driving the country’s economic growth,” the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.

“These opportunities include sectors and companies that are well-positioned to drive economies and lead sectors moving forward.”



Iraq Says it is Committed to OPEC+ Cuts

FILE PHOTO: A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Iraq Says it is Committed to OPEC+ Cuts

FILE PHOTO: A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view of oil tanks at Türkiye's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km from Adana February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Iraq said Monday that it was committed to OPEC+ group’s supply agreement and that it would present an updated plan to compensate for any overproduction of its quotas in recent months.

Baghdad, OPEC's second largest producer, said its oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani had spoken with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais.
Iraq said it will continue its efforts to compensate the accumulated overproduction while taking into account an anticipated handover of oil for export from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
OPEC+, which groups together members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, is set to begin scheduled supply increases in April.
OPEC+ is currently cutting output by 5.85 million barrels per day (bpd), equal to about 5.7% of global supply, agreed in a series of steps since 2022.
In December, the group extended its latest layer of cuts through the first quarter of 2025, pushing back a plan to begin raising output to April, the latest of several delays due to weak demand and rising supply outside the group.
Baghdad is waiting for Türkiye's approval to restart oil flows from the Iraqi Kurdistan region after a two-year halt which started in March 2022 when the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.

An Iraqi oil ministry official earlier told Reuters around 185,000 barrels per day would be exported from Kurdistan's oilfields through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline once the oil shipments resume.