Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Sovereign wealth funds: the Gulf’s biggest power players

Did you know that the world’s first sovereign wealth fund was set up in the GCC? Kuwait Investment Authority was established in 1953, eight years before the country’s independence, to invest surplus oil revenues.

Now every GCC country has a sovereign wealth fund responsible for financial returns and national economic development. 

“Today there are over 100 sovereign wealth funds holding $11 trillion worth of assets under management. Forty percent of those assets are here in the region,” said Javier Herrera, partner at Kearney. 

Four out of the world’s top 10 sovereign wealth funds are in the GCC. These government-backed investment vehicles have a set of common priority sectors in the region: manufacturing, renewables and healthcare. 

“There was no presence of local players in the automotive sector in Saudi Arabia two to three years ago. PIF took the lead role of catalysing the sector by making two anchor investments in Lucid and Ceer,” Herrera said. 

These investments started generating demand that resulted in new opportunities within the value chain. Ceer, for instance, is forecast to create up to 30,000 jobs and contribute $8 billion to the Saudi economy by 2034. 

Meanwhile in the UAE ADQ is playing a key role in advancing the healthcare sector.

“ADQ started by merging two key players – SEHA and Daman – under Pure Health. Since then, they started making more local and international players with the aim of making ‘regional champions’,” Herrera added. 

However, the capital of sovereign wealth funds is limited, which is why they are looking for other sources. 

To find out what these sources are and understand how the region’s sovereign wealth funds function, watch the full video.

Latest articles

Nature, Outdoors, Countryside

PIF’s Salic seeks to buyout Olam’s agriculture unit

Singapore-based Olam Group has confirmed that Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment (Salic) has offered to acquire its remaining stake in Olam Agri Holdings. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary acquired a 35 percent stake in Olam Agri for $1.24 billion in December 2022, valuing the company at $3.5 billion. Olam Group retains 64.6 percent of its […]

The Riyadh monorail will connect with the Metro running through King Abdullah Financial District

Driverless monorail planned for Riyadh’s financial district

An agreement to launch a driverless monorail project has been signed by King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The 3.6-kilometre system will have six trains travelling on an elevated circular track that will wind between the main towers of the district.  The system will have six stations across the district, connecting […]

Delegates watch PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan speak at FII in Riyadh. He said Saudi Arabia is focusing on domestic investment

PIF signs Japan and Hong Kong pacts worth $52bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth up to $51 billion with five Japanese banks.  The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund said the agreements cover a variety of areas, including encouraging two-way capital flows through both debt and equity.  The agreements were signed with Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, MUFG […]

The CIF funding will raise $790 million to transform the country’s power transmission system and invest in smart-grid upgrades

Turkey’s clean energy plan gets $1bn backing

Climate Investment Funds (CIF), one of the world’s largest multilateral funds, has backed a $1 billion funding for Turkey’s green energy scale-up. The fund’s board approved a $70 million investment from its renewable energy integration (REI) investment platform, which will contribute to the green expansion of Ankara’s energy system. The CIF funding will raise $790 […]