WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump signed an executive order on Monday ordering the U.S.

Treasury and Commerce Departments to create a sovereign wealth

fund and said it may purchase TikTok.

"We're going to stand this thing up within the next 12

months. We're going to monetize the asset side of the U.S.

balance sheet for the American people," Treasury Secretary Scott

Bessent told reporters. "There'll be a combination of liquid

assets, assets that we have in this country as we work to bring

them out for the American people."

Trump had previously floated such a government investment

vehicle as a presidential candidate, saying it could fund "great

national endeavors" like infrastructure projects such as

highways and airports, manufacturing, and medical research.

Details on how exactly the fund would operate and be

financed were not immediately available, but Trump previously

said it could be funded by "tariffs and other intelligent

things." Typically such funds rely on a country's budget surplus

to make investments, but the U.S. operates at a deficit.

There are over 90 such funds across the world managing over

$8 trillion in assets, according to the International Forum of

Sovereign Wealth Funds.

TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, was

briefly taken offline just before a law requiring its Chinese

owner ByteDance to either sell it on national security grounds

or face a ban took effect on Jan. 19.

Trump, after taking office on Jan. 20, signed an executive

order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of the law.

Trump has said that he was in talks with multiple people

over TikTok's purchase and would likely have a decision on the

popular app's future in February.