Saudi, UAE sovereign funds among world’s largest

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) ranked amongst the world’s 20 largest SWFs in Q4 2016, at $576.3 billion and $792 billion respectively, according to a report issued by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI).

The kingdom’s SAMA Foreign Holdings fund, which placed fourth on the list, saw its asset value drop to $576.3 billion in Q4 2016, compared to around $598.4 billion in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was ranked the world’s 13^th largest, with $160 billion in assets in Q4 2016.

Elsewhere in the region, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) ranked third on the list after Norway and China, with $792 billion in assets. The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) claimed the fifth spot with assets worth $592 billion, while the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) placed ninth at $335 billion.

Norway's Government Pension Fund maintained its ranking as the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, with assets reaching $885 billion during the period.

SWFs’ gross assets reached around $7.42 trillion in Q4 2016, rising by 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter. Saudi Arabia holds a 9.9 percent share of the world’s wealth funds, or $736.3 billion, while the UAE controls 17 percent, or $1262.7 billion.