At a time when the Saudi sovereign fund’s investments in the US markets increased, the Kingdom reduced its holdings of US bonds by $8.6 billion, around 6.3%, in the first half of 2021.
According to recent disclosures from the US Treasury, Saudi Arabia’s holdings of bonds amounted to nearly $127.8 billion until last June, compared to $136.4 billion at the end of 2020.
It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia’s investment in US bonds declined for six consecutive months, but the Kingdom returned to raising it by half a billion dollars last May.
Saudi Arabia is currently ranked 15th in the list of the largest holders of US bonds. Japan tops the list with investments of $1.2 trillion, followed by China with assets of $1.06 trillion, and then the United Kingdom with $452.9 billion.
In other news, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has increased its ownership of equities in the US market to nearly $15.9 billion by the end of the second quarter this year.
This was after the sovereign wealth fund said it raised its stake in US video game company Activision Blizzard by 13.3 percent to 37.9 million shares, Argaam reported citing a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
PIF also has a stake in the second-biggest gaming company in the US, after Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, owning around 14 million shares.
The fund plays a vital role in Saudi Arabia’s plan to transform its economy by creating new sectors and diversifying its revenue streams.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed a logistics services agreement with Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation.
This falls within SAMI’s commitment to develop the capabilities and support the localization of Saudi Arabia’s military industries sector.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bahri will provide wide-ranging internal and external logistics services, including sea, air, and land transport, as well as freight services to the various business units and affiliated companies of SAMI.
The agreement was co-signed at the SAMI headquarters by Eng. Walid Abukhaled, the CEO of SAMI, and Eng. Abdullah Aldubaikhi, the CEO of Bahri.
The contract includes the provision of complete door-to-door logistics and transportation services to facilitate the smooth execution of the projects and programs of SAMI and its affiliates, besides supporting the localization of defense logistics.
