In a significant move by Saudi Arabia, an 8% stake in the state oil company, Aramco, was transferred to the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), marking a strategic repositioning of assets designed to strengthen the sovereign wealth fund. This transfer comes in anticipation of a potential public offering in Aramco and is valued at approximately $163.6 billion, based on Aramco’s market value as indicated by LSEG data.
The kingdom is reportedly preparing to offload additional Aramco shares later in the year, a move that could enhance funding for Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic reform initiative, Vision 2030. However, the PIF has not disclosed the specific recipients of these forthcoming shares.
Since 2022, the PIF has directly owned a 4% stake in Aramco and indirectly controls an additional 4% through Sanabil, a fully owned subsidiary. The recent transaction aligns with the country’s long-term goals to diversify its economy and create new investment opportunities, as stated by the state news agency SPA, quoting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also chairs the PIF.
The SPA highlighted that this asset allocation reinforces PIF’s robust financial status and creditworthiness. The PIF, capitalizing on strong market interest in emerging-market issuers, has successfully raised $7 billion through two separate debt offerings this year. Despite accumulating an estimated $36 billion in debt, the sovereign fund appears to continue its borrowing trend unabated.
Financial experts, such as Justin Alexander, director of Khalij Economics and a GCC analyst for GlobalSource Partners, project that the PIF will garner over $9 billion in annual dividends from its Aramco holdings. PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan, concurrently the chairman of Aramco, announced plans to ramp up capital deployment to $70 billion annually post-2025, up from the current rate of $40 billion to $50 billion.
Aramco’s stock ended the trading day at 31.75 riyals ($8.47), a slight dip from its 2019 IPO price of 32 riyals, resulting in a market capitalization of nearly $2.05 trillion.
The transformation of PIF from a traditional sovereign investor into a dynamic global investment entity is a key component of the crown prince’s strategy to diversify the Saudi economy. Last year, the fund invested $31.5 billion, making it the world’s leading spender among sovereign wealth funds. With assets under management estimated at around $700 billion before the latest share transfer, PIF aims to expand its portfolio to $2 trillion by 2030.
Aramco clarified that the transaction was a private affair, not involving the company directly nor impacting its issued shares, operations, strategy, dividend policy, or governance structure. Following the transfer, the Saudi state retains a 82.186% stake in Aramco.
The Saudi government heavily depends on Aramco for revenue through various forms of payout, which include royalties and dividends. Striving to revamp the economy and reduce oil revenue dependency, the state has injected substantial funds into the PIF, such as a $40 billion contribution in 2020.
PIF’s vast array of initiatives includes NEOM, a proposed high-tech city in the desert, which is projected to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games and is expected to go public this year. The initial phase of NEOM is estimated to cost around $320 billion. Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, underscores the growing funding needs for these expansive projects and the pivotal role of PIF and oil revenues in advancing the country’s economic transformation.