The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is a South African state-owned entity (SOC[1]) with R2.693 trillion (USD 142 Billion) of assets under management as of 31 March 2024.[2] It is Africa's largest asset manager.[3] Established in 1911, it holds large stakes in several South African companies, and is one of the entities through which the government implements its policy of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The PIC is also responsible for investing in the South African Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).
History
The organisation has its origins in 1911, with the passing of the Public Debt Commissioners Act of 1911, a year after the formation of the Union of South Africa. Known then as the Public Debt Commissioners, it would manage the government's debt, investing the government and South African Railways and Harbours trust funds and by 1924 had taken on the provincial administrators funds as well. By the mid-1920s it would manage the granting of loans to local governments in the country. The Pension funds managed by the government would allow the government to borrow against those funds. In 1984, a new act, the Public Investment Commissioners Act No.45 of 1984, moved its focus from debt to investment management, investing funds on behalf of government organisations, the appointment of commissioners and the finance minister as its chairman.