Saudi Arabia creating $2trn wealth fund by selling oil assets

Saudi Arabia will end its dependence on fossil fuels by creating the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund from selling shares in a state oil company.

The sovereign wealth fund will be worth an estimated US$2 trillion, eclipsing the funds of Norway and Abu Dhabi.

The kingdom is the world’s biggest exporter of petroleum and it will launch an initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco in 2017, according to the deputy crown prince and defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Suadi Arabia’s second in line to the throne, said: “IPOing Aramco and transferring its share will technically make investments the source of Saudi government revenue, not oil.”

He added: “What is left now is to diversify investments. So within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesn’t depend mainly on oil.”

Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, said: “This fund… is an amazing thing. It’s enough to buy Google, Microsoft, Alphabet… and they’d still have change to spare. It’s a rather dramatic plan in terms of the economic transformation of the country.”