Saudi PIF on a buying spree of US company stocks

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia purchased Alphabet parent company of Google, Zoom Video, and Microsoft shares. This was done in part of a wider pick of U.S. stocks making the total market value of the sovereign wealth funds investment portfolio about $40.8 billion at the end of Q2.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the fund took about 213,000 class A shares in Alphabet, 4.7 million class A shares in Zoom, 1.8 million shares in Microsoft, 3.9 million shares in JP Morgan and 741,693 shares in BlackRock.

The fund also took shares of other companies like in Adobe Systems, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Salesforce, Home Depot, Costco, Freeport-McMoRan, Datadog, NextEra Energy and Starbucks of which it took 6.3 million shares.

Recently the Saudi PIF and London-based Cain International have invested $900 million into the luxury hotel group Aman. Cain international values the hotel group at around $3 billion. The investment would help Aman groups’ plan for the global expansion of ultra-luxury hotels and branded residences. It would also be utilized to amplify existing properties and support the acquisition and development of new locations.

PIF Deputy Governor Turqi Alnowaiser in a tweet by the public fund said “Our investment in Aman Group reflects PIF’s belief in the current potential of the hospitality and tourism industry, both internationally and in Saudi Arabia,”

The PIF, which oversees assets worth $620 billion, is at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s aspirations to reshape its economy by establishing new industries and diversifying its revenue sources. The fund’s plan is a two-pronged strategy where one is creating an international investment portfolio while also making local investments in initiatives that will aid in reducing Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil.