Report: “Saudi General Investments” manages assets worth about $750 billion | Economy

The Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday that the total assets managed by the Public Investment Fund reached 2.81 trillion riyals ($749.23 billion) by the end of 2023.

The agency reported in its report on “Saudi Vision 2030 in its eighth year” that it had been completed 93 companies were established in the Public Investment Fund’s portfolio during 2023, compared to 71 companies in the previous year.

She indicated that the Fund provided 644,000 direct and indirect jobs last year, compared to 500,000 in 2022.

The agency added that non-oil government revenues amounted to 457 billion riyals ($121.85 billion) in the same year, and that the Kingdom recorded the highest historical level of contribution of non-oil activities at 50% of the real gross domestic product.

The report listed some other indicators recorded at the end of 2023 as follows:

• Saudi Arabia's non-oil GDP reached 1,889 billion Saudi riyals.
• The private sector's contribution to GDP reached 45%.
• Military industries witnessed a localization rate of 10.4%.
• The share of non-oil exports in non-oil GDP reached 24.1%.
• The unemployment rate among Saudis reached 7.7%.
• The Kingdom has developed 50 industrial investment opportunities worth more than 96 billion riyals.
• The percentage of foreign and joint investments in the industrial sector amounted to 37% of the sector’s total investments as of May 2023, and its value reached more than 542 billion riyals.
• More than 200 international companies have moved their regional headquarters to the capital, Riyadh.

Economic growth

In a related context, a poll published by Reuters the day before yesterday revealed that the Saudi economy will grow at a slower pace this year than previously expected, with oil prices declining after their recent significant rise.

According to the survey – which was conducted between April 3 and 19 – the Saudi economy – the largest economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries – is expected to grow by 1.9% in 2024, down from 3% in a survey conducted last January.

After growth of 8.7% in 2022, the Saudi economy contracted by 0.9% last year with crude oil prices falling to about $82 per barrel in 2023 after they had peaked at $139 per barrel in March 2022.

With oil prices not expected to rise clearly this year, economists now expect lower growth for the oil-dependent Saudi economy.

Official data revealed that net foreign investments in Saudi Arabia jumped by 266 billion riyals ($71 billion) during 2023, a number that reflects the Kingdom’s attractiveness to foreign capital looking for safe investments.

According to data from the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, until the end of 2023, the total balance of foreign investments in Saudi Arabia (direct and indirect investment) reached 2.408 trillion riyals ($642.1 billion), up from 2.141 trillion riyals ($571 billion) at the end of 2022.

The balance of foreign investments recorded at the end of last year is considered the highest in the history of the Kingdom, according to historical data issued by the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia.

This is due to the improvement in global oil prices and the decline in investment in this main source of energy in many countries of the world, such as the United States, in addition to the advantages that the Kingdom has provided to investors.