ASSETS held by public investment funds in Saudi Arabia rose 36 per cent from a year earlier to about 217.9 billion riyals ($58.1bn) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, driven by strong growth in domestic investments, official data showed, reports the Arab News.
Asset values also rose 5.7pc from the previous quarter, according to data from the Capital Market Authority cited by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange has seen strong growth in recent years, attracting increased investor interest in fixed-income instruments amid a global environment of elevated interest rates.
According to SPA, the number of subscribers to public investment funds reached 1.59 million by the end of the third quarter, representing an annual increase of 1.5pc.
The growth in public investment fund assets was driven by a 39pc year-on-year rise in assets of local funds, which reached 186.9bn riyals in the third quarter of 2025 and accounted for 86pc of total assets.
Meanwhile, assets of foreign funds rose to 31.1bn riyals, reflecting annual growth of 21pc.
The number of public investment funds in the kingdom increased 11.6pc year on year to 346, up from 310 in the third quarter of 2024.
Public investment fund assets were distributed across a range of investment types, including equities, bonds, cash instruments, real estate investments, and other assets.
Local money market funds held the largest share of assets at 75.6bn riyals, followed by local equities at 46.6bn riyals, real estate investment funds at 28.9bn riyals, and funds invested in other local assets at 19.6bn riyals.
To further strengthen the capital market ecosystem, the kingdom announced earlier this month that it would open its financial markets to all foreign investors.
The measures introduced by the Capital Market Authority include the removal of restrictions such as the Qualified Foreign Investor framework, which required a minimum of $500m in assets under management, as well as the abolition of swap agreements.