Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has withdrawn $3 billion from the US market in the third quarter. The Public Investment Fund reduced its holding by $3 billion by selling stakes in exchange-traded funds that track the real estate and materials sectors.
The fund has reduced its holding from $10.1 billion to $7 billion in the US market. It left a $2.7 billion stake in Uber Technologies Inc as its largest US-traded holding, according to a regulatory filing. Earlier in the mid-COVID-19 period, when the virus’s effect was at the peak and there was a pandemic driven sell-off, it spent billions of dollars in the US market. The fund brought shares in major US-based companies like Facebook Inc, Citigroup Inc, and Walt Disney Co.
After the reopening of the market and recession in COVID-19 lockdown, the fund started to exit from its position and bought into exchange-traded funds focused on utilities and materials sectors. The fund has handed about $40 billion this year to buy stokes globally. The same kind of investment is expected for the next financial year too. Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in a rare statement last week that some of the local investments could be funded by liquidating existing assets.