OSLO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), holds a 0.3% stake in oil and gas firm Equinor (OL:EQNR), the Norwegian firm's public records showed ahead of Thursday's annual general meeting of shareholders.
The stake, worth 1.5 billion Norwegian crowns (120.00 million pounds), makes PIF the 19th biggest owner. The Norwegian government owns 67% of Equinor.
The Saudi fund, which manages over $300 billion in assets, earlier this year bought stakes in Royal Dutch Shell (L:RDSa), Total (PA:TOTF), Eni (MI:ENI) and Equinor, a source familiar with the transactions told Reuters on April 9.
PIF's purchases, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, came as demand for oil slumped due to the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing oil shares down.
Equinor's shares dropped to 95.20 crowns on March 16, the lowest level since 2008, but have since recovered to trade at 135.50 crowns on Thursday.
The PIF is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's vehicle for boosting Saudi Arabian investments at home and abroad.
