*Talal Al-Sayah from Riyadh
Foreign assets of investment funds in Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 101.7 percent, equivalent to 18.52 billion riyals, during the first quarter of 2019 to reach 36.73 billion riyals, while the value of domestic assets fell by 11.3 percent, equivalent to 10.62 billion riyals.
According to the monitoring unit of the reports in the newspaper "AlEqtisadiah" that was based on data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the value of foreign assets of investment funds in Saudi Arabia by the end of the first quarter of 2019 recorded the highest level ever, specifically in 22 years since 1998.
At the end of the first quarter, foreign assets accounted for 30.7 per cent of total assets, compared with 16.3 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018.
As for the local assets of the investment funds, their value at the end of the first quarter of 2019 were amounted to 83.03 billion riyals, compared to 93.65 billion riyals at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, which is recording a decline of 11.3 percent, equivalent to 10.62 billion riyals.
The value of local assets out of the total value of investment fund assets is about 69.3 percent compared to 83.7 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018.
Thus, the total value of "domestic and foreign" assets of investment funds in Saudi Arabia by the end of the first quarter of 2019 reached to 119.76 billion riyals, which is the highest level since the first quarter of 2018, compared to SR111.86 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, which is registering a 7.1 per cent growth of SR 7.9 billion due to growth in foreign assets.
With regard to the number of investment funds in Saudi Arabia, it reached 252 funds as of the end of the first quarter of 2019, compared to 249 funds by the end of the fourth quarter 2018, a growth of 1.2% that is equivalent to three funds after falling by 15 funds during the fourth quarter 2018.
The funds are divided into two "open funds and closed funds," as the number of open funds stood at 225, making up about 89.3 percent of the total number of funds with assets of SR 94.442 billion, which was accounting for 78.9 per cent of the value of investment fund assets.
While the number of closed funds stood at 27, making up 10.7% of the total value of investment funds with assets of SR 25.318 billion, which was accounting for 21.1 per cent of the total value of funds invested in Saudi Arabia.
The number of subscribers in these funds were amounted to 356.41 thousand subscribers, compared to 232.567 thousand subscribers by the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, which is registering a growth of 7.2 per cent to 23,843 thousand.
The number of subscribers to these funds grew for the eighth quarter in a row, specifically since the first quarter of 2017, after the number at the end of the first quarter of 2017 was about 224.244 thousand subscribers.
* Economic Reports Unit
