What is ‘SAMA Foreign Holdings (Saudi Arabia)’
A Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. The fund is controlled by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, a part of the central bank. According to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, SAMA Foreign Holdings is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with an estimated $432 billion in assets under management as of 2009.
Explaining ‘SAMA Foreign Holdings (Saudi Arabia)’
The majority of the wealth held in the SAMA Foreign Holdings fund is derived from the oil wealth of Saudi Arabia, but the fund also manages certain Saudi public pensions. It is estimated to be the second largest of the three major Gulf country funds, the other two being the ADIA (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and the KIA (Kuwait). The fund is highly secretive regarding its holdings and investment strategies.
Further Reading
- The economy and finances of Saudi Arabia – link.springer.com [PDF]
- The Islamisation of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the Financial System in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Experience from Selected Muslim Countries – papers.ssrn.com [PDF]
- Sovereign dilemmas: Saudi Arabia and sovereign wealth funds – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Financial development and economic growth in an oil-rich economy: The case of Saudi Arabia – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Contribution of oil in economic growth of Saudi Arabia – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Causality between financial development and economic growth: an application of vector error correction and variance decomposition methods to Saudi Arabia – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The global financial crisis: impact on Saudi Arabia – papers.ssrn.com [PDF]
- Effective regulatory regimes: A comparative analysis of GCC financial regulators – www.emerald.com [PDF]
- Human resource development in Gulf countries: an analysis of the trends and challenges facing Saudi Arabia – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
