Saudi investment funds see largest fall in 16 years

RIYADH, Sept 04 (Arab News): The total assets of Saudi Arabia's investment funds dropped by SR23.2 billion ($6.2 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA.
This drop recorded the steepest fall the Kingdom has seen since the second quarter of 2006, when the decrease in total fund assets amounted to SR30 billion.
While the 2006 downturn was predominantly driven by the SR28.8 billion drop in the country's domestic shares, this year's tumble was due to a more general decrease in an array of asset types.
Foreign money market instruments witnessed the largest decrease of SR8.7 billion in the second quarter of this year.
Domestic shares and other domestic assets decreased by SR6.4 billion and SR4.5 billion respectively in the second quarter.
Furthermore, domestic money market instruments and domestic sukuk and bonds fell by SR4.1 billion and SR1.3 billion respectively, according to SAMA data.
Investment funds' assets have been seeing a downward trend since the third quarter of 2021.
Total assets fell 1 per cent by SR1.8 billion in the third quarter of 2021, reaching SR240 billion.
Total assets fell by 5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to SR227 billion, and by another 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to SR216 billion quarter on quarter, showed the SAMA data.