Saudi fund outpaces GIC with $41.7 billion splurge

GIC loses spot as the world’s most active sovereign wealth fund for first time in 6 years

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) emerged as the world’s most active sovereign investor in 2023, boosting its deal activity, even as most global peers including Singapore’s GIC and Temasek slashed spending.

PIF deployed US$31.6 billion (S$41.7 billion) in 2023, according to research consultancy Global SWF. That was higher than the US$20.7 billion it invested the previous year, an increase that contrasts with a wider trend – globally, state-owned investors deployed US$124.7 billion, about a fifth less than the prior year.

The declines were led by GIC, which cut the amount of capital deployed by 46 per cent to US$19.9 billion and lost its spot as the world’s most active sovereign wealth fund for the first time in six years. Temasek also reduced new investments by 53 per cent to US$6.3 billion against a backdrop of volatile markets, which led the two Singapore-based investors to report worsening returns.