(March 13): The oil-rich Middle East is close to becoming the only region with three trillion-dollar wealth funds.

Saudi Arabia recently transfered a US$164 billion (RM767.72 billion) stake in Aramco to the Public Investment Fund, while the Kuwait Investment Authority is on track for one of its best fiscal years on record amid a broad market rally, Bloomberg News has reported.

That’s helped both entities narrow the gap with the US$993 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) — the region’s largest state-backed investor — according to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI).

Many wealth funds operate in secrecy, making it hard to ascertain the exact size of their portfolios.

Globally, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is the world’s largest, followed by China Investment Corp, data from SWFI shows.

In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is home to three wealth funds — ADIA, Mubadala Investment Co and ADQ. The city is among few globally that manage about US$1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth capital, and recently set up a technology investment firm that could surpass US$100 billion in assets under management.