Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it had no plan to sell stakes in local companies. “Contrary to inaccurate media speculation this morning, the PIF has no plan or intention to reduce its equity holdings in Saudi Arabia,” the PIF said in a statement on Wednesday. Reports on Tuesday had indicated that the PIF, which owns stakes in local companies worth tens of billions of dollars, was considering selling some of those shares. The government aims to expand the PIF from USD160bn to cUSD2trn and increase its investments abroad. (Reuters, Bloomberg)