Saudi PIF Nearly Triples Holdings in US Market

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
TT

Saudi PIF Nearly Triples Holdings in US Market

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, nearly tripled its holdings of US-listed stocks to $43.45 billion in Q3 2021, adding shares of Alibaba Group, Walmart and Pinterest.

Its US-listed stock holdings in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 increased from nearly $16 billion in the prior quarter, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which added the PIF made 19 new investments.

A new five-year plan would make the fund the leading catalyst for Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and diversification.

The Fund plans to double its assets to four trillion riyals ($1.07 trillion) by 2025. To boost domestic economy, it plans to inject at least 150 billion riyals annually in the local economy in the next four years.

The five-year strategy would see the fund creating 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs by 2025, from 331,000 by the end of by the third quarter of 2020.



Turkmenistan, Iran Sign Deal to Supply Gas to Iraq

The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry - AFP File Photo
The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry - AFP File Photo
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Turkmenistan, Iran Sign Deal to Supply Gas to Iraq

The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry - AFP File Photo
The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry - AFP File Photo

Turkmenistan and Iran on Wednesday signed a contract for the delivery of 10 billion cubic meters a year of Turkmen gas that Iran will then ship on to Iraq.

The deal was announced by Turkmenistan's foreign ministry, which did not state the monetary worth of the contract, according to The AP.

The ministry's statement said Iranian companies will construct a new 125-kilometer (77-mile) pipeline to Iran to expand Turkmenistan's delivery capacity. The ministry said Turkmenistan plans to increase its gas supplies to Iran to 40 billion cubic meters a year.

Iraq last year faced disruptions in the supply of Iranian gas, which accounted for about 40% of its imports.

Turkmenistan is heavily reliant on revenue from sales of the gas in its vast reserves. And the government was instructed to find alternative options to ensure the operation of power plants in the central and southern provinces of the country.

The former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan relies heavily on the export of its vast natural gas reserves. China is the country's main customer for gas and Turkmenistan also is working on a pipeline to supply gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.