Profits of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) plunged last year, driven by increased costs, changes in operational plans and global economic challenges.
The bottom line sank 60 percent year on year to SAR26 billion ($7 billion), the PIF said in a financial statement released on the London Stock Exchange.
High-interest rates and inflation were a concern, while higher net impairment charges on financial assets impacted earnings.
The sovereign wealth fund turned profitable in 2023 after reporting a $4.5 billion loss in 2022 due to losses at SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Total revenues rose by 24 percent annually to SAR413 billion. Revenues from non-investment activities rose 19 percent year on year to SAR284 billion, while income from investment activities increased 37 percent annually to SAR129 billion.
Total assets under management exceeded SAR4.32 trillion last year, rising 18 percent from SAR3.7 trillion in 2023.
Cash and deposits with banks and financial institutions fell 4 percent annually to SAR316 billion last year. Group loans and borrowing increased 22 percent year on year to SAR570 billion from SAR466 billion.
In January research company Global SWF said Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company outpaced the PIF in spending 2024 after the Saudi fund reduced its global investments last year.
In October 2024, the PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the fund plans to reduce its foreign investments to around a fifth of its total assets under management and will focus on domestic funding and artificial intelligence.
Al-Rumayyan said PIF – which is leading Saudi Arabia’s economic development plan as the owner of the Saudi giga-projects – is now focused on artificial intelligence and joint ventures as part of a drive for the country to become a global economic power.
In May the fund opened its first subsidiary company office in France as it targets doubling its investment in Europe by 2030.
Al-Rumayyan expects the fund’s European investment to reach $170 billion by 2030 from $85 billion deployed between 2017 and 2024.
