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Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund reduced its holdings in US equities by almost a fifth in the third quarter, according to filings released just days before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House.
The Public Investment Fund exited positions in nine companies, including Visa and Pinterest, as it cut its exposure to US stocks by 18 per cent compared with the second quarter.
The near-$1tn fund maintained holdings of $19.4bn in six US groups, including Uber, Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Its holdings in US equities were worth as much as $56bn in the final quarter of 2021.
The disclosures come ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Prince Mohammed to the White House on Tuesday, where the kingdom’s de facto ruler is expected to meet US President Donald Trump and sign a series of defence and trade agreements.
The trip will be Prince Mohammed’s first visit to Washington since 2018, and follows a visit by Trump to Riyadh in May at which the president said Saudi Arabia had committed to invest $600bn in the US.
The PIF’s sale of some of its American equities follows similar exits from other US-listed companies earlier this year, including Meta, PayPal and FedEx. The fund is increasingly focusing on domestic investments and key infrastructure projects the country needs to build in preparation for hosting big events, including Expo 2030 and the 2034 Fifa World Cup.
The PIF has emerged as the main vehicle for Prince Mohammed’s ambitious reform programme aimed at diversifying the Saudi economy away from its dependence on oil revenues. The diversification plan involves several capital-intensive so-called gigaprojects, including Red Sea tourist resorts and the futuristic Neom zone in the country’s north-west.
Lower oil prices in recent years have affected the government’s budget and added pressure on the fund to deliver on its domestic projects.
PIF governor Yasir al-Rumayyan said last year that the fund planned to cut its proportion of overseas investments to between 18 and 20 per cent, down from a high of 30 per cent in 2020. Still, the absolute amount of foreign investments would continue to grow as the fund targeted $2tn of assets under management by 2030, he said.
The fund is expected to unveil its 2026-30 investment strategy early next year.
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