Reuters reported, according to accounts it conducted based on data from the Saudi Central Bank, that the foreign reserves of the bank fell last March by about $ 27 billion on a monthly basis - which is the fastest pace in at least 20 years - to about $ 464.5 billion, and it was not April numbers are available.
Reuters quoted Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan as saying on Friday that the kingdom transferred a total of 150 billion riyals ($ 40 billion) of foreign reserves to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (the central bank) to finance investments for the Public Investment Fund - the sovereign wealth fund - in March / Last March and April.
Exceptionally
Finance Minister Mohamed Al-Jadaan said in a statement that the transfers to the Public Investment Fund were "exceptionally".
The minister did not give separate numbers for each month, but a Saudi Finance Ministry official told Reuters that the government transferred $ 15 billion to the Public Investment Fund last March and another $ 25 billion in April, saying that foreign reserves are expected to decrease in April. April is about the same rate it fell in March.
The official said the Public Investment Fund had also transferred part of its liquidity in riyals to US dollars to support the investments.
The official - who asked not to be named because the details have not yet been announced - added that the government does not expect a significant reduction in foreign reserves at the central bank later, and that the changes will be in line with what they were last year.
"While foreign exchange flows have witnessed levels since the beginning of this year, levels within their historical limits, this measure has resulted in a decrease in the total foreign reserve assets to support investment plans," he said, adding that the fund's investments do not appear in the data issued by the central bank.
He said, "Maximizing the return on state assets will positively reflect on economic performance and public finances and to reduce the negative effects of the Corona pandemic, and the returns of investment activities achieved by the fund will be available to support public finances when needed."
Find opportunities
And last April, the fund's president, Yasser Al-Rumayyan, said that the fund was exploring investment opportunities in areas such as aviation, oil, gas, and entertainment.
The fund - which manages more than $ 300 billion in assets and has stakes in Uber Technologies and Lucid Motors Motors for electric cars - raised this year stakes in four major European oil companies, and revealed a 8.2% stake in Carnival Corp, a cruise ship operator.
Earlier this month, stakes were also revealed in Boeing, Citigroup, Facebook, Walt Disney and Marriott.
Al-Jadaan also said in the statement that the government continues to implement its development plans that support growth and economic diversification and enhance the role of the private sector and support local content, whether through the state's general budget or through the role played by development funds and the public investment fund.
The kingdom - the world's largest oil exporter - slipped to a budget deficit of $ 9 billion in the first quarter of the year as oil revenues collapsed.
The official at the Ministry of Finance said that the fund is still going through investments in giant local projects in light of the effort of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the sources of the economy, including the $ 500 billion NEOM economic zone and the Red Sea and cash tourism project and the development of the entertainment industry, which will include An amusement park managed by Six Flags.
He said that the fund has a large liquidity in riyals from its own portfolio and from amounts from the initial public offering last December for the national oil giant Saudi Aramco.