Saudi Arabia transfers $ 40 billion of its financial reserves to Public Investment Fund

SANAA, May 30 (YPA) – The Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, said that the Saudi government transferred $ 40 billion in foreign reserves in the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency to fund investments for the Public Investment Fund.
In a press statement he made on Friday, he pointed out that the Public Investment Fund continues to “implement its investment plans, which included seizing a group of investment opportunities that have arisen in light of the current conditions in global financial markets.”

Al-Jadaan stated that 150 billion riyals (about $ 40 billion) of foreign reserves with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency was transferred to the Public Investment Fund on an exceptional basis to enhance its investment capacity, during the months of March and April of this year, “which was reflected in the data issued by the reserves of the institution In these two months. ”

He continued: “Although foreign exchange flows have seen levels since the beginning of this year within their historical limits, this measure has resulted in a decrease in the total foreign reserve assets to support investment plans.”

He pointed out that “the investments of the Public Investment Fund do not appear in the statements of the Monetary Agency, which explains the decrease that appeared in the monthly statements of the Monetary Agency.”

Meanwhile, a Saudi Finance Ministry official told Reuters that foreign reserves in Saudi Arabia are expected to decline in April, at nearly the same rate as it fell in March.

He explained that the government transferred $ 25 billion in April to the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, to finance its projects abroad, and granted it $ 15 billion in March.