Following years of discussions about a part of oil giant, Saudi Aramco, going public, it's finally official, the company is up for trade and investors want in.
Saudi Aramco’s market value went up to $1.9 trillion on the first day of its IPO, and made history as the most valuable listed company in history. On it’s second day at market, the company’s valuation went up to $2 trillion – as previously predicted by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
The state owned, oil company was valued by critics at around $1.7 trillion prior to the company going public, but Saudi Aramco did indeed exceed expectations by over $300 billion USD. Last week, just 1.5% of Saudi Aramco’s shares went to market on the Riyadh stock exchange platform, Tadawul, which saw the company’s share prices rise by $9.39 USD, after it became available – which is the maximum allowed daily increase.
Aramco has officially executed the biggest IPO in history as it raised $25.6 billion USD by selling just 1.5% of its shares. The Saudi company outranked the likes of Apple, which is the second largest company in the world and is valued at $1.19 trillion USD.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Aramco Chairperson, described the IPO as “a proud and historic moment for Saudi Aramco and our majority shareholder, the kingdom." Falling in line with Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030, the money made from the Aramco IPO will be invested into other sectors in the kingdom, with a view to diversify the country’s economy and modernize.