Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund increased the size of its investments in Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google parent Alphabet in the third quarter.
It also bought new stakes in Linde, the world's largest industrial gas company by market share and revenue, and blank cheque company Compute Health during the same period.
The Public Investment Fund raised its stake in Meta by 11 per cent to more than 3.26 million shares valued at about $443 million, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The PIF, which manages more than $620 billion in assets, boosted its investment in Alphabet to 4.26 million shares in the three-month period to the end of September, from 213,000 shares in the previous quarter, with the value of the position exceeding $407 million.
The value of the fund's total investments in US equities in the third quarter was about $36.8 billion across a portfolio that includes 53 companies.
The sovereign wealth fund lies at the centre of the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Arab world's largest economy and reduce its reliance on oil.
Under a five-year strategy announced last year, the PIF aims to more than double the value of its assets under management to $1.07 trillion and to commit $40 billion annually to develop Saudi Arabia's economy until 2025.
The fund has created 10 new sectors, set up more than 30 new companies, created 331,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia and more than tripled its assets in the past few years. Under its five-year plan, it will focus on 13 sectors as part of its core domestic strategy.
Other third-quarter investments include the purchase of more than 1.2 million shares valued at about $326 million in Linde, the world's largest industrial gas conglomerate by market share and revenue.
The fund also bought more than 7.49 million shares valued at about $74 million in Compute Health, a health technology special purpose acquisition company (Spac).
A Spac, or blank-cheque company, is a vehicle with no commercial operations that is formed to raise funds through a public listing and then acquire an existing company.
Spacs are established with the aim of carrying out a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination with one or more businesses.
Compute Health is led by chairman Omar Ishrak, who currently serves as the chairman of Intel and previously served as chief executive of Medtronic.
The PIF retained its 72.8 million shares in ride-hailing company Uber, with the value of its stake growing by 30 per cent to $1.93 billion in the third quarter.
The value of the fund's 2.85 million shares in South Korean e-commerce business Coupang, which is backed by Japan's SoftBank, rose by 31 per cent to $47.6 million. The PIF is an anchor investor of the SoftBank Vision Fund.
The PIF's largest investment remains in electric car company Lucid and is worth about $14.2 billion.
Lucid went public in July 2021 and plans to produce 155,000 cars a year at its new facility in Saudi Arabia, boosting its global production capacity to 500,000 EVs per year in the coming years.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
MORE FROM CON COUGHLIN
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
