It has just been announced that Saudi Arabia’s most profitable, state owned, company, Saudi Aramco, who had plans for a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO) around 3 years ago, could be going through with it.
Earlier this week, the kingdom announced that it would be going ahead with the IPO of the oil giant, which will allow for investors to purchase shares of the world’s most profitable enterprise. The shares are set to be issued on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange – when this would be happening hasn’t been revealed yet, however.
It has been reported by Reuters that Aramco may be offering up 1-2% of its shares to the local stock exchange, and where this number seems significantly minimal, these shares could raise anything from $20-40 billion USD.
Aramco are yet to confirm the official percentage of shares that they are selling and the prices. This information will be released following the “book-building period,” and is likely to start trading next month in the kingdom’s capital city of Riyadh.
According to CNN, CEO Amin Nasser said of the plan, "(The IPO) will increase our international visibility as the leading company in the world.”
Saudi Arabia is also looking at the international stock market in places such as London and New York, alongside local, Tadawul.
Saudi Aramco’s decision to go public comes after the country’s low oil prices affecting the economy, pushing the kingdom to look at pulling away from its reliance on oil.
The IPO is expected to be a step in line with Crown Price Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan.
