
PIF's strong financial position fuels Kingdom's economic transformation
Assets under management grew by 19 percent in 2024, reaching $913 billion, with an annualized average portfolio return of 7.2 percent since 2017.
Since 2021, cumulative investments in priority sectors have surpassed $171 billion.
These financial results highlight strong progress aligned with PIF's forward-looking investment strategy, reinforcing its position as one of the world's largest and fastest-growing sovereign wealth funds.
Also, these strong financial results underscore its effective portfolio management, driven by a strategic focus on diversifying its investment base, advancing the Saudi economy, and strengthening global commercial partnerships.
PIF's strong financial performance has reinforced its efforts to exceed expectations in delivering on its unique mandate — advancing Saudi Arabia's economic transformation in line with Vision 2030.
By focusing on generating sustainable financial returns and diversifying the economy away from oil, PIF has contributed significantly to national development.
The financial performance demonstrated substantial growth, underpinned by strong financial foundations and successful portfolio diversification strategies.
As of 2024, PIF's portfolio comprises 225 companies, including 103 created and established by the fund.
As PIF continues to solidify its position among the world's 10 largest sovereign wealth funds, its portfolio has delivered substantial growth, with assets under management increasing sixfold in 2024 compared with $152 billion in 2015.
Notably, throughout 2024, PIF continued to lead with a long-term vision and clear strategic purpose. This is evidenced as PIF has deepened its financial impact by driving forward Saudi Arabia's economic transformation while delivering sustainable financial returns. PIF now accounts for 10 percent of the Kingdom's non-oil economy, with its cumulative real non-oil contribution to gross domestic product reaching $243 billion between 2021 and 2024.
The fund continued to advance the development of strategic economic sectors in Saudi Arabia by building national champions, enhancing the technical capabilities of its investment portfolio, promoting localization, and fostering innovation.
PIF's 2024 financial results underscore its strategic focus on cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence and automation, which have become integral to its operations.
It has succeeded in forming strategic partnerships with innovative companies, investment managers and influential investors, and investing in cutting-edge technology that is shaping the future global economy.
In 2024, PIF completed 58 digital projects, launched 15 new applications and automated more than 477 processes, enabling insights, strategy and the creation of economic value.
Throughout 2024, PIF strategically expanded its international investment portfolio, harnessing long-term, high-impact capital to deliver sustainable returns and cultivate partnerships in priority global markets.
PIF's financial strength and stability received international recognition in 2024, as Moody's upgraded its credit rating to Aa3 from A1 with a stable outlook, and Fitch affirmed its A+ rating, also with a stable outlook — both affirming the fund's robust credit profile and solid financial fundamentals.
Leveraging its solid financial foundation, PIF continued to diversify its funding base in 2024, raising $9.83 billion in public debt and $7 billion in private debt markets.
In summary, PIF closed 2024 with a solid financial performance, driven by strong assets and healthy returns. It also marked a major achievement in ESG performance, scoring 96 percent on Global SWF's GSR Scoreboard.
In 2025, PIF tied for first place globally among 200 sovereign investors, with a score of 100 percent.
A study by Brand Finance, the world's leading independent brand valuation company, found PIF to have the most valuable and fastest-growing brand in the world among all SWFs, with an A+ rating.
As a catalyst for change, PIF has successfully accelerated growth across 13 targeted strategic sectors, unlocking new opportunities and reshaping the future landscape of Saudi economy, financial and labor markets, and local content development. As a result, PIF managed to create over 1.1 million direct and indirect jobs domestically and globally.
In October 2022, PIF launched the Local Content Growth Program with the objective of increasing the local content contribution of the fund and its portfolio companies to 60 percent by 2025.
By 2023, local content in PIF's projects had already surpassed 47 percent, up from 40 percent in 2020. Between 2020 and 2023, total spending on local content reached about $106.7 billion.
• Talat Zaki Hafiz is an economist and financial analyst.
X: @TalatHafiz
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