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GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Israeli officials have announced they will temporarily expand the fishing area for Palestinians off a sector of the blockaded Gaza Strip.

From Wednesday, fishermen in southern Gaza will be able to travel up to 9 nautical miles out to sea in search of hauls, up from six previously, an Israeli statement said on Sunday.

The six-week expansion will “improve the economy in the Gaza Strip”, said the statement from the Israeli defence ministry unit known as COGAT.

Fishing limits off the northern part of Gaza will remain unchanged at 9.6 kilometres.

Nizar Ayesh, head of the Palestinian fishing union, told AFP they had not yet been informed of the decision.

Under the Oslo Agreements of the 1990s, fishermen are supposed to be allowed to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast.

Ayesh said he hoped the recent reconciliation between Palestinian factions would pressure Israel to further loosen its restrictions.

Israel has imposed a blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip for a decade, while Egypt has also largely closed its border with the isolated enclave.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

In May, a fisherman was shot dead by Israeli forces who alleged he breached the blockade and ignored warnings to stop.

Around 4,000 fishermen work in Gaza, more than half of whom live below the poverty line.

ANKARA — US President Donald Trump’s hardened stance towards Iran evoked a mixture of indifference and national pride among Iranians on Saturday but many were concerned about economic hardship should a multinational nuclear deal unravel.

In a major shift in US foreign policy, Trump said on Friday he might ultimately terminate the 2015 agreement that lifted sanctions in return for Tehran rolling back technologies with nuclear bomb-making potential.

“… Of course we don’t want economic hardship, but it does not mean we will be their puppet and do whatever they say,” said housewife Minou Khosravani, 37, a mother of two in the central city of Yazd.

Within minutes of Trump’s speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani went live on state television, ruling out any renegotiation of the deal Iran signed with major powers. He also signalled Iran would withdraw from the agreement if it failed to preserve Tehran’s interests. 

Tired of economic adversity during years of tough sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme, many Iranians still fervently back the decision by Iran’s clerical rulers to resist US pressure. 

“I am not a regime supporter. But I side with Iran’s rulers against Trump and his illogical pressure on Iran,” said hairdresser Ziba Ghanbari, 42, when contacted by Reuters in the northern city of Rasht.

Iranians around the globe took to social media in anger.

Former official Mostafa Tjzadeh, who spent seven years as a prisoner of conscience in Iran, tweeted: “One nation, One message: No to #Trump. We are in this together.” 

“Long on rhetoric, short on substance,” tweeted Niloofar Ghadiri, a journalist in Tehran. 

Economic hardship 

Iranian authorities say 15 per cent of the country’s workforce is unemployed. Many formal jobs pay a pittance, meaning the true figure of people without adequate work to support themselves is probably far higher. 

Lack of foreign investment, if more sanctions are imposed, will deepen the unemployment crisis. Currency exchange shops are refusing to sell US dollars because of the uncertainty as the rial has lost value in the past days. Iranians fear new sanctions will also see the price of food, including rice, bread and dairy products, rise. 

“My worry is that the economy will go back to the sanctions era when we had difficulties to find essential food and even medicine. I want my son to have a good life,” said elementary school teacher Gholamali Part, 43, in Tehran.

To improve Iran’s economy, Rouhani has rolled out the red carpet for global investors since sanctions were suspended. But so far only a few major European investors have returned to Iran’s market, including planemaker Airbus, French energy group Total and Germany’s Siemens. 

Others are deterred mainly by a separate raft of sanctions Washington continues to impose in retaliation for what it calls Tehran’s support for terrorism and human rights abuses. Iran denies involvement in terrorism.

The nuclear deal was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union. Despite assurances by other signatories over their continued commitment, European companies could think twice about involvement in Iran if the deal cannot survive.

Hossein, like millions of Iranians who bore the brunt of the sanctions, has no high hopes. “We are going to be sanctioned again,” said Hossein, who declined to give his full name.

‘Rare unanimity’

Inflation has dropped to single digits since Rouhani was first elected in 2013, but he has failed to tackle high unemployment and the gap between rich and poor is widening.

The hardline daily Kayhan, which campaigned against the deal during 18-months of the nuclear talks, wrote: “Trump keeps the nuclear pact: advantages for America, restrictions for us!”

In a report headlined “Mr Blunder’s isolation”, the moderate Arman daily wrote: “’A rare unanimity supports Iran in the World’ is the closest definition of the mood after Trump’s speech last night.”

Some Iranians are indifferent. “I don’t care. Will there be holidays if the deal fails? That is important because I can go on a holiday with my friends,” said Arjang Bakhtiari, 19, whose family owns factories in several cities. 

Trump’s decision in effect leaves the fate of the deal up to the US Congress, which might try to modify it or bring back US sanctions previously imposed on Iran.

The failure of the deal could be politically tricky for Rouhani, its chief architect, who has been criticised by the country’s utmost power, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the country’s slow pace of economic recovery. 

Khamenei cautiously backed the deal, but has repeatedly expressed pessimism about the United States remaining committed to it. The economic problems caused by the US  pressure could weaken Rouhani’s stance in Iran’s faction-ridden and complex establishment.

DUBAI — A massive slide in the economic growth of Middle East top oil exporters is weighing heavily on the outlook for the entire region, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.

“Fuel exporters are particularly hard hit by the protracted adjustment to lower commodity revenues,” the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook for October.

Iran’s growth is forecast to slide to 3.5 per cent this year down from a strong 12.5 per cent in 2016. 

Iraq’s economy, which experienced healthy 11 per cent growth in 2016, is expected to fall into negative territory and shrink by 0.4 per cent this year.

The Saudi economy, the largest in the region, is forecast to end 2017 flat — down from 1.7 per cent growth last year.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are the top oil producers and exporters in the Middle East. Riyadh is the world’s top oil exporter.

Kuwait’s economy is projected to shrink the most among oil exporters, by 2.1 per cent, while the economies of the United Arab Emirates and Algeria will grow at a modest rate, the IMF said.

In all, the growth of MENA oil exporters Iran, Iraq, Algeria and the six Gulf Cooperation Council states is forecast to end this year at 1.7 per cent from 5.6 per cent in 2016.

MENA growth as a whole is projected to more than halve in 2017, from 5.1 per cent to 2.2 per cent, “on the back of a slowdown in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s economy after very fast growth in 2016 and cuts in oil production in oil exporters”, the IMF said.

It projected the price of oil to average $50.3 a barrel in 2017, higher than the previous year, but will remain in the 50s until 2022.

Regional oil exporters have lost hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue since crude prices began to slump in mid-2014.

As a result, they have posted budget shortfalls and some have resorted to painful reforms.

The IMF welcomed Saudi Arabia’s reform package, although it has already sent the kingdom’s economy into the red in the first two quarters of the year.

In contrast to these exporters, economic growth in oil-importing nations — which include Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and others — is forecast to improve to 4.3 per cent this year from 3.6 per cent in 2016, the IMF said.

The IMF had a better outlook for 2018, forecasting a rebound in growth to 3.2 percent compared with just 3 per cent in its July outlook.

The adjustment is due to stronger domestic demand in oil-importing countries and an expected rise in oil output.

The diplomatic rift between Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries member Qatar — also the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas — and a Saudi-led Arab bloc has not affected oil and gas markets, as Qatar’s exports have continued, the IMF said.

However, the report warned of the impact of ongoing conflicts, both domestic and regional.

“Internal and cross-border conflict in parts of the Middle East still weighed on economic activity,” it said.

KHARTOUM — Sudan’s economy is headed towards gradual recovery, Finance Minister Mohamed Othman Rukabi said at a forum on Saturday, just one day after the US lifted its 20-year-old economic sanctions opening the way for critical economic reforms and badly needed investment. 

The move will suspend a trade embargo, unfreeze assets and remove financial restrictions that have hobbled the Sudanese economy.

“Lifting the sanctions leads to increasing growth and production rates, but in order to benefit from this chance we must bring down inflation, increase exports, decrease imports and government spending, lift subsidies on basic goods and attract foreign investment,” Rukabi said. 

Sudan’s economy has struggled since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s oil output, its main source of foreign currency and government income.

Price rises have been compounded by the government’s decision late last year to cut fuel and electricity subsidies in a bid to tighten its finances. Petrol prices rose by about 30 per cent, leading to broader inflation.

“The finance minister’s comments on reducing inflation and government spending and increasing exports would not have been possible before the sanctions were lifted and now there is hope that Sudan can operate under normal conditions,” said Bakri Youssef, general secretary of the Federation of Sudanese Businessmen.

The United States lifted long-standing sanctions against Sudan on Friday, saying Sudan had made progress fighting terrorism and easing humanitarian distress, and also secured Khartoum’s commitment not to pursue arms deals with North Korea.

Khartoum is hopeful that the move would help it regain access to global financial markets which could help draw in badly needed investment and raise prospects for a recovery.

LONDON — The British pound sank on Thursday as investors fretted over Prime Minister Theresa May’s political future one day after a “shambolic” speech to the Conservative Party’s annual conference, analysts said.

By about (15:15 GMT), sterling had dived to a one-month low at $1.3122.

Earlier, the European single currency had hit a three-week pinnacle at 89.33 pence per euro.

“After Theresa May’s speech at the Tory party conference on Wednesday, there are rumours that she will be asked to step down by her own party,” said City Index analyst Kathleen Brooks.

“The prospect of a leaderless UK in the middle of the Brexit process, or even worse, a Prime Minister Boris [Johnson], are right to unnerve sterling traders.”

She added that the market “seems to be ignoring some fairly solid economic data, progress in the Brexit talks, and a weaker dollar and euro, in favour of politics”.

May’s conference speech dominated Thursday’s newspapers, which had sympathy for her bad luck but bleak warnings about what the string of misfortunes signalled for her leadership.

The premier was hoping to use the keynote speech to reassert her authority following a dismal election showing.

However, she was interrupted by a comedian handing her a fake notice of unemployment, before succumbing to a persistent cough in front of a collapsing set.

“Sterling is coming under pressure again... following speculation that Theresa May’s position is increasingly under threat following yesterday’s shambolic speech,” added Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

“A change of leadership so soon after the election and just as Brexit talks appear to be making some progress may seem like a ludicrous idea — but a leadership challenge has been brewing since the disastrous election campaign.”

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s central bank on Wednesday eased financial restrictions imposed on the Kurdistan region over its independence vote after receiving a pledge of cooperation from Kurdish banks, an Iraqi banking source said.

All but four Kurdish-owned banks were allowed to resume dollar and foreign currency transfers on Wednesday, the source told Reuters. 

The central bank had informed the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Tuesday it would stop selling dollars to the four Kurdish banks, and would halt all foreign currency transfers to the autonomous region, banking and government sources told Reuters.

The measures were taken in retaliation for the September 25 referendum, in which the region voted overwhelmingly for independence despite opposition from Baghdad and Iraq’s neighbours Iran and Turkey.

The measures aim to tighten the control of the central bank over the Kurdish banking industry.

The central bank will maintain its dollar sale ban for four banks pending a review of their cooperation, the banking source said.

“The dollar sale prohibition will be lifted if the central bank sees that the four banks are really cooperating in disclosing their financial transactions,” the source said.

The Iraqi government has rejected an offer by the Kurdish government to discuss independence. It has demanded that it cancel the referendum result or face continued sanctions, international isolation and possible military intervention. 

SYDNEY —  Australia's central bank left interest rates at a record low on Tuesday with the board upbeat about the economy, while sounding a warning about the strength of the local dollar.

The reserve bank has slashed rates by 300 basis points since November 2011 to 1.50 per cent as the country wrestles with its transition away from an unprecedented boom in mining investment.

But it has left rates on hold since August last year and is yet to show its hand regarding its next move.

Reserve Bank of Austrelia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe acknowledged that the Australian economy had shrugged off the sluggish start to the year, boosted by government and consumer spending, with growth of 0.8 per cent in the June quarter.

"This outcome and other recent data are consistent with the bank's expectation that growth in the Australian economy will gradually pick up over the coming year," he said after a monthly board meeting.

"Over recent months there have been more consistent signs that non-mining business investment is picking up. A consolidation of this trend would be a welcome development."

But the bank remained concerned about high levels of housing debt in cities where property prices have soared, at a time when wages growth remains low. 

It also noted the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar, which was keeping inflation below its target band.

"The higher exchange rate is expected to contribute to continued subdued price pressures in the economy," said Lowe. "It is also weighing on the outlook for output and employment.”

"An appreciating exchange rate would be expected to result in a slower pick-up in economic activity and inflation than currently forecast."

The dollar fell following the rate announcement, dropping below 78 US cents for the first time since mid-July and remained at that level by mid-afternoon.

AMP Capital Chief Economist Shane Oliver said the post-meeting statement "continues to imply a neutral short term bias on interest rates".

"Basically the RBA and official interest rates remain stuck between a rock and a hard place," he said. 

"Improving global growth, strong business confidence and jobs growth, the RBA's own expectations for a growth pick up and already high levels of household debt argue against a rate cut. 

"But record low wages growth, low underlying inflation, the impending slowdown in housing construction, risks around the consumer and the strong dollar argue against a rate hike."

Westpac Institutional Bank's Bill Evans said he expected rates to remain on hold in 2018 and 2019.

WASHINGTON — Google announced new steps to help struggling news organisations on Monday — including an end to a longstanding “first click free” policy to generate fresh revenues for publishers hurt by the shift from print to digital.

The moves come amid mounting criticism that online platforms are siphoning off the majority of revenues as more readers turn to digital platforms for news.

“I truly believe that Google and news publishers actually share a common cause,” said Google Vice President Philipp Schindler.

“Our users truly value high quality journalism.”

Google announced a series of measures, the most significant of which would be to replace the decade-old policy of requiring news organisations to provide one article discovered in a news search without subscribing — a standard known as “first click free”.

This will be replaced by a “flexible sampling” model that will allow publishers to require a subscription at any time they choose.

“We realise that one size does not fit all,” said Richard Gingras, Google’s vice president for news.

This will allow news organisations to decide whether to show articles at no cost or to implement a “paywall” for some or all content.

Gingras said the new policy, effective Monday, will be in place worldwide. He said it was not clear how many publishers would start implementing an immediate paywall as a result.

“The reaction to our efforts has been positive,” he told a conference call announcing the new policy.

“This is not a silver bullet to the subscription market. It is a very competitive market for information. And people buy subscriptions when they have a perception of value.”

Google said it is recommending a “metering” system allowing 10 free articles per month as the best way to encourage subscriptions.

News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson, whose company operates the Wall Street Journal and newspapers in Britain and Australia, welcomed Google’s announcement.

“If the change is properly introduced, the impact will be profoundly positive for journalists everywhere and for the cause of informed societies,” said a statement from Thomson, a fierce critic of the prior Google policy.

Thomson and others had complained that “first click free” penalised news organisations that declined to participate by demoting their articles in Google searches.

“The felicitous demise of First Click Free (Second Click Fatal) is an important first step in recognising the value of legitimate journalism and provenance on the Internet,” he said.

One-click subscriptions 

The California tech giant also said it would work with publishers to make subscriptions easier, including allowing readers to pay with their Google or Android account to avoid a cumbersome registration process.

“We think we can get it down to one click, that would be superb,” Gingras said.

He explained people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, but that a “sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off. That’s not great for users or for news publishers who see subscriptions as an increasingly important source of revenue”.

Google would share data with the news organisations to enable them to keep up the customer relationship, he added.

“We’re not looking to own the customer,” he said. “We will provide the name of user, the e-mail and if necessary the address.”

Gingras said Google is also exploring ways “to use machine learning to help publishers recognise potential subscribers,” employing the Internet giant’s technology to help news organisations.

He added that Google was not implementing the changes to generate revenues for itself, but that some financial details had not been worked out.

Google does not intend to take a slice of subscription revenues, he noted.

“Our intent is to be as generous as possible,” he said.

Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google and Facebook will take in 63 per cent of digital advertising revenues in 2017 — making it harder for news organisations to compete online.

Facebook is widely believed to be working on a similar effort to help news organisations drive more subscriptions.

Google created a “Digital News Initiative” in Europe in 2015 which provides funding for innovative journalism projects.

DUBAI — Hard hit by a drop in oil income, energy-rich Gulf states will next year introduce value-added tax (VAT) to a region long known for being tax-free.

Some have hailed introducing VAT as the start of "exciting, dramatic" change in the region, but the measure is also expected to push prices up for all residents including citizens and low-income workers.

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates doubles the price of tobacco and increases soft drink prices by 50 per cent, ahead of the more general VAT on goods and services from January 1.

The UAE is one of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to have agreed to introduce VAT at 5 per cent next year as they seek to revitalise their economies.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have said they will implement VAT from January 1, 2018, while the other GCC states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar are expected to follow suit during the year.

Economies in the Gulf — home to the world's biggest exporters of oil and liquefied natural gas — took a major hit after a global supply glut triggered a drop in prices in 2014.

Their balance sheets have remained in the red despite government austerity measures recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including freezing wages, benefits and state-funded projects, cutting subsidies and raising power and fuel prices.

Governments across the region have also drawn hundreds of billions of dollars from their massive sovereign wealth resources in an attempt to curb the deficit.

'Already struggling' 

The six states are now taking austerity measures a step further with the plan to introduce VAT, ending their decades-old reputation for being tax havens.

Accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte has said the progressive implementation of VAT from next year "marks the start of some of the most exciting, dramatic and far-reaching            socioeconomic changes in the region since the discovery of oil" more than half a century ago.

But the move is expected to increase prices across the board including for nationals, who make up roughly half of the GCC's overall population of 50 million.

Gulf nationals have for decades benefited from a generous cradle-to-grave welfare system, and have largely been spared by austerity measures so far.

VAT, a consumption tax imposed on goods and services, is generally paid by individual consumers to businesses, which then transfer the funds to tax authorities.

"Citizens won't be happy about the price hikes from the VAT. I don't think it will be acceptable as it will affect people's budgets," said Khaled Mohammed, a Saudi working in Dubai's property sector.

The IMF has insisted the introduction of VAT will not drive away millions of expatriates until now lured by a tax-free environment.

But the future looks daunting for the region's tens of thousands of low-income workers.

"It's going to be tough for all those who draw small salaries," said Rezwan Sheikh, an Indian restaurant worker in Dubai.

"We're already struggling with finances. How much are we going to save after the VAT?" asked Sheikh, who sends most of his salary home to his parents and pregnant wife.

'Social justice'? 

Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone make up 75 per cent of the GCC's $1.4-trillion economy and are home to 80 per cent of the Gulf population, citizens and expatriates.

Under the agreement between GCC states, some goods and services will be exempt from the tax.

Bryan Plamondon of the US-based IHS Markit Economics says food, education, and healthcare, as well as renewable energy, water, transportation, and technology, are likely to receive preferential treatment.

He estimates that VAT will raise between $7 billion (5.95 billion euros) and $21 billion (17.77 billion euros) annually — or between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent of GDP.

The IMF has said the returns could reach around 2 per cent of GDP.

But inflation rates will also increase.

Faisal Durrani, who heads research at Cluttons Dubai, expects inflation to double to 4 per cent in the UAE next year.

Capital Economics has projected Saudi inflation could reach 4.5 per cent, a stark shift from the current 0.4 per cent deflation.

According to leading Kuwaiti economist Jassem Al Saadun, governments will need more than numbers to ensure a successful introduction of VAT.

"People must be convinced that there is social justice, that raised funds will be used for development projects and that corruption is checked," the head of Al Shall Consulting told AFP.

"None of these factors is guaranteed.”

DUBAI/LONDON — Saudi Arabia’s plans to float state oil titan Aramco are prompting the country to think the unthinkable. 

Late last year, Saudi Arabia tried to get fellow oil producers around the world to agree to reduce production. Before an OPEC meeting in Vienna in November, Saudi officials were armed with an unprecedented bargaining chip: if there was no deal, the kingdom would quit the exporter group altogether.

The strategy was approved at the highest level of the Saudi government, said sources familiar with the matter. 

It was not only aimed at ensuring the smooth workings of the world’s energy supply. It was also driven by a desire to push up oil prices to maximise the valuation of Saudi Aramco ahead of the listing, said the sources who declined to be named as the information is confidential. 

In the end, the world’s biggest oil exporter did not have to enact that option. OPEC members along with non-OPEC producers including Russia agreed a deal in December to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day. 

But the fact such a move was considered shows how Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) — expected to be the biggest in history — is forcing the kingdom to rethink its OPEC policies.

Riyadh’s stance represented a shift, OPEC sources said, from its decades-old role of advocating restraint and seeking to convince fellow members like Algeria, Venezuela and Iran that prices rising too fast benefited alternative energy providers. 

“Saudi Arabia is now the main price hawk”, said a high-level OPEC source. He added he was surprised how quickly the kingdom shifted from its policy of prioritising market share, by pumping oil at full tilt, to supporting production cuts following its decision to list Aramco.

The Saudi energy ministry and OPEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

The IPO also raises questions over Saudi Arabia’s future role in OPEC, as the kingdom would become the only member with a national oil firm listed abroad. That in turn raises questions over the future of OPEC itself given the kingdom has been the group’s driving force since its inception almost 60 years ago.

Until now, Aramco — which oversees Saudi Arabia’s vast reserves — has always been a tool in the country’s OPEC policies, to reduce or increase production. 

Once a stake in Aramco is floated, however, the company will have to take into account the interests of outside investors, according to industry sources.

Listing rules and anti-trust legislation, particularly in the United States, also preclude price-fixing, which Aramco could be accused of if it continued to follow Saudi Arabia’s OPEC policy of adjusting output to manage prices, the sources said.

“Aramco is the instrument used to manage the market even though it is not involved in making the policy,” said Fareed Mohamedi, chief economist at US -based Rapidan Group.

Saudi Aramco declined to comment on the potential risks of investors suing it post-IPO if it followed Saudi OPEC policies.

Norwegian path 

Saudi authorities aim to list around 5 per cent of Aramco by the end of 2018 on both the Riyadh stock exchange and one or more international markets, with London, New York and Hong Kong in the running.

The IPO is the centrepiece of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

The prince has said he expects the IPO to value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion, and Saudi officials and investors say the valuation will be directly impacted by oil prices.

Saudi officials have said they want to see $60 per barrel this year, with banking sources suggesting the IPO might be timed to happen with crude trading at $60-$70 per barrel. Prices have been around $50 for most of this year and were above $58 this week.

Listing its national oil firm represents unknown territory for Saudi Arabia and OPEC. But Norway, which has listed its state oil company Statoil, might offer some guide to the path ahead. 

The Nordic nation, which still owns 67 per cent of the oil firm, has refrained from joining any international steps in regulating oil output since 2002, months after listing in New York and Oslo in 2001.

Over the past year, Saudi officials have met officials from Norway and Statoil to discuss how best to restructure Aramco’s business operations ahead of the IPO, according to several industry sources familiar with the meetings. 

The sources cited US anti-trust laws as the main reason why Norway does not join accords on production, such as the deal agreed in December. 

A Statoil spokesman said the company had not advised Saudi officials on the IPO in any official capacity. Its CEO Eldar Saetre also told Reuters in February that it was not officially advising Aramco, but said it was “sharing” its experience. Statoil referred queries about Norway’s position regarding international output accords to the ministry of energy. The ministry said there was no link between Norway not joining OPEC cuts and the fact that Statoil is a US listed company. 

Losing market share 

While Prince Mohammad, the likely future ruler of Saudi Arabia, is determined to proceed with the IPO, there are still concerns inside the government and Aramco about the wisdom of the move, according to Saudi and industry sources. Some conservatives oppose the idea of Riyadh relinquishing any control over its oil’s crown jewel.

Saudi officials have said that production decisions are a sovereign matter that will remain with the government — which will still own the bulk of Aramco post-IPO — but did not explain how this policy would be compatible with a listed company.

One Saudi-based industry source said Aramco would have to act like other listed oil company such as Chevron or ExxonMobil. If it wanted to cut production, it would have to demonstrate to the investors that they would financially benefit from the move.

Inside Aramco, some executives do not believe that Saudi Arabia’s OPEC policies in preparation for the IPO will benefit the company in the long term, according to several sources. They point to the fact that OPEC’s output cuts have eaten into Aramco’s market share in Asia, the world’s biggest oil-consuming region. 

Since January, Riyadh has cut production by more than it was required to help OPEC achieve a full compliance with cuts and boost prices as other members were slow to reduce output.

The kingdom, previously China’s biggest crude supplier, has been overtaken by Russia while Iraq has eclipsed it as India’s number one source.