SWF Radar SaudiArabia

The Economist writes that, “While Saudi Arabia sets up its first sovereign wealth fund, ordinary Saudis are more preoccupied with the rising price of food. This is prompting the Saudi government to consider a new direction for foreign investment: buying farms in the poorer parts of the world.”

AME Info reports that, “Saudi governmental foreign investments abroad have risen by 49.9% to reach SR1.4 trillion by end of June 2008, compared to SR875.2bn for the same period last year.”

Bloomberg reports that, “Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves will increase 65 per cent to $595 billion by the end of 2010 on record fiscal surpluses, EFG-Hermes Holding SAE said.”

The article adds that, “Saudi Arabia plans to start a sovereign wealth fund with $5.3 billion this year, to be managed by The Saudi General Investment Fund.”

Emirates Business 24/7 writes that, “Saudi Arabia is making $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) a day in oil revenues on the back of record global fuel prices, according to a top executive at Riyadh-based Jadwa investment company.”

AFP reports that, “US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Saturday that the link of Gulf currencies to the dollar is a sovereign matter, as he started a Gulf tour in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.”

The article adds that SPA reported him as saying at a press conference with his Saudi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Assaf (Minister of Finance and National Economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), that, “The (future of the) link between these currencies and the dollar rests in the hands of these governments.”

The Financial Times reports that, “Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is in the ‘final stages’ of launching the kingdom’s first sovereign wealth fund. But its early financial commitment will disappoint those hoping for another megafund.”

MEED writes that, “Another reason [Saudia Arabia] has yet to establish a sovereign wealth fund is that it has been focusing on domestic opportunities, which it has been investing in through the Public Investment Fund (PIF). … The expectation is that the PIF will run a sovereign fund, using its experience gained over 37 years investing in the Saudi market.”

Emirates Business 24/7 reports that, “Saudi Arabia has again quashed speculation it intends to scrap the peg between its currency and the dollar – but left the door open for a riyal revaluation. Prolonged discussions by the kingdom’s Shura consultative council at the weekend made it clear Riyadh has no plans to abandon the dollar link. Instead it is opting to use a massive petrodollar surplus to increase salaries and subsidies as a temporary measure to tackle inflation.”

The Gulf Times reports that, “Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister and Central Bank governor will meet today [Sunday] with members of the country’s Shura finance committee to discuss the riyal’s peg to the US dollar, raising speculation of an imminent revaluation.”

Gulf News reports that, “Riyadh: Hamad Al Sayyari, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), has reiterated the Kingdom’s current policy of pegging the riyal with the dollar. He said the slowdown in the US economy will not have much effect on Saudi Arabia.”