Saudi Arabia boosts sovereign fund with 4% Aramco transfer

Saudi Arabia boosts sovereign fund with 4% Aramco transfer

April 17, 2023









Saudi Arabia’s government transferred a 4% stake in Saudi Aramco to its sovereign wealth fund-owned Sanabil Investments as part of its economic growth strategy.

The government remains Saudi Aramco’s biggest shareholder with 90.18% of the oil company, according to state-owned Saudi Press Agency.

What happened: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the completion of a 4% transfer of Saudi Aramco shares on Sunday from state ownership to Sanabil Investments. The value of the transfer is estimated at $77.8 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations that used Aramco’s market valuation of more than $1.9 trillion.

Sanabil is an investment arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It commits about $3 billion in capital per year in private investments, according to the financial investment company’s website. The government transferred about the same percentage last year.

In 2019, the kingdom sold nearly 2% of Saudi Aramco in an initial public offering.

Why it matters: The move is part of a greater goal to reduce the kingdom’s dependance on oil by expanding and modernizing the kingdom’s economy by developing its non-oil sectors and industries as part of Saudi Vision 2030, which launched about seven years ago.

According to the crown prince’s statement, the transfer