(Adds PIF holdings, analyst quotes)
By Saeed Azhar and Kanishka Singh
DUBAI/BENGALURU, May 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign
wealth fund has bought minority stakes in major American
companies including Boeing, Facebook and Citigroup
, a regulatory filing showed, giving it a portfolio of
nearly $10 billion in U.S.-listed stocks.
The $300 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been buying
minority stakes in companies across the world, taking advantage
of market weakness in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The PIF disclosed stakes worth $713.7 million in Boeing,
ABOUT $522 million in Citigroup, $522 million in Facebook,
$495.8 million in Disney and $487.6 million in Bank of
America, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) filing https://bit.ly/3e2A01B on Friday showed.
The PIF has a nearly $514 million stake in Marriott
and a small holding in Berkshire Hathaway, according to
the filing. The PIF also disclosed an $827.7 million stake in
oil company BP, which has American Depository Receipts
(ADRs) listed in the United States.
"The Saudi sovereign fund went shopping in Q1," tweeted Ali
Al-Salim, co-founder of Dubai-based consulting firm Arkan
Partners, adding that it now held about $10 billion in
U.S.-listed equities, up from $2 billion at the start of the
year.
PIF's strategy is two-pronged; building an international
portfolio of investments and investing locally in projects that
will help reduce Saudi Arabia's reliance on oil.
The sovereign wealth fund was not immediately available to
comment.
ENERGY GIANTS
The PIF has separately funded almost half of Japanese
investor SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund, which has been hit
by losses on technology bets.
Last month the PFI's head, Yasir al-Rumayyan, said it was
looking into investment opportunities in areas such as aviation,
oil and gas, and entertainment, adding that there would be a lot
of potential for investment opportunities once the coronavirus
crisis passes.
The PIF disclosed an 8.2% stake in coronavirus-hit Carnival
Corp in April, sending the cruise operator's shares
nearly 30% higher.
The Saudi fund bought stakes in Royal Dutch Shell,
Total, Eni and Equinor earlier this
year , a source familiar with the transactions told Reuters on
April 9.
The SEC filing on Friday showed it had a $483.6 million
stake in Shell, a $222.3 million holding in Total and a $481
million stake in Suncor Energy.
An earlier filing in Norway had shown the PIF had a 0.3%
stake in oil and gas firm Equinor.
PIF already has a $2 billion stake in Uber Technologies
and electric car company Lucid Motors. It used to own a
small stake in electric carmaker Tesla, but the latest
filing did not show any exposure.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Pravin
Char)
