After years of delay and false starts, the state-owned company last week said it will sell an unspecified number of shares on the Riyadh stock exchange in what is expected to be the biggest IPO in history. Aramco will sell a part of its shares to institutional investors, including foreign companies, as well as to individual Saudis and other Gulf nationals.
The company has also decided to sell up to 0.5 per cent of its shares to individual investors while it will decide on the percentage for larger investors later.
The company said it will determine the percentage to be sold to institutional investors after consultations with its financial advisors and global coordinators consisting of major international banks.
Even though the size of the IPO has not yet been disclosed, it is expected to be the biggest ever, raising over USD 30 billion.
The IPO represents the cornerstone of powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision 2030,” which aimed at leading the world’s biggest crude exporter away from oil.