Saudi Arabia boosts sovereign fund with 4% Aramco transfer

Saudi Arabia’s government transferred a 4% stake in Saudi Aramco to its sovereign wealth fund-owned Sanabil Investments as part of its economic growth strategy.

The government remains Saudi Aramco’s biggest shareholder with 90.18% of the oil company, according to state-owned Saudi Press Agency.

What happened: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the completion of a 4% transfer of Saudi Aramco shares on Sunday from state ownership to Sanabil Investments. The value of the transfer is estimated at $77.8 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations that used Aramco’s market valuation of more than $1.9 trillion.

Sanabil is an investment arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It commits about $3 billion in capital per year in private investments, according to the financial investment company’s website. The government transferred about the same percentage last year.