Aramco IPO will be Saudi crown prince’s decision — minister

Saudi Arabia wants to raise $100 billion through the IPO — report

By AFP - Oct 30,2019 - Last updated at Oct 30,2019

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman speaks during the Future Investment Initiative forum at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Wednesday (AFP photo)

RIYADH — The timing of the highly anticipated stock market debut of Saudi energy colossus Aramco will be dictated Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the kingdom’s energy minister said on Wednesday.

Aramco was expected to launch the first part of a two-stage IPO earlier in October, but the process has been delayed, reportedly due to the prince’s dissatisfaction with the valuation of the firm, which had been hoped to reach $2 trillion.

The long-awaited initial public offering will now happen on December 11 on the Riyadh stock market, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said on Tuesday.

Aramco did not confirm the report and Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman side-stepped the details when he spoke at a major investment conference in Riyadh where the listing has been a topic of discussion.

“I hate this time around to disappoint the media, because I’m not going to talk about OPEC or what we should do, and I’m not going to talk about the IPO,” he said to laughs from the audience of policymakers and top executives.

“It’s going to come soon... but it will come at the right time with the right approach, and definitely with the right decision. And it will be a Saudi decision first and foremost, specifically Prince Mohammed’s decision,” he added.

Prince Abdulaziz is the half-brother of the crown prince, whose ambitious reform plans for the kingdom’s economy largely rest on the anticipated $100 billion windfall from the Aramco listing.

After an initial listing on the domestic stock exchange, Aramco is believed to be planning to sell the rest of a planned tranche of 5 per cent of the firm on an international bourse.

“The Saudis’ current objective is to raise $100 billion through the IPO process, even if that means ultimately selling up to 10 per cent of the company to outside investors,” Energy Intelligence said in a report this week.

It cited sources as saying they expect the Saudis to settle on a valuation of $1.6 trillion to $1.7 trillion for the firm.

Rate