(3 Nov 2019) Saudi Arabia formally began an initial public offering Sunday of a sliver of oil giant Saudi Aramco after years of delay, hoping international and local investors will pay billions of dollars for a stake in the kingdom's crown jewels. An approval by Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority served as the starting gun for an IPO promised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since 2016.
The firm's shares will be traded on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange, said Amin H Nasser, the president and CEO of Aramco.
But unlike traditional IPOs, Saudi Aramco offered no hoped-for price range for its shares nor any idea how much of the firm would be offered to investors on Tadawul.
Nasser and Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan spoke at a press conference in Dhahran on Sunday.
Analysts say the kingdom likely hopes local investors will push its share prices toward a desired $2 trillion valuation and buoy that price ahead of any possible further listing abroad.
However, economic worries, the trade war between China and the US and increased crude oil production by the US has depressed energy prices.
A September 14 attack on the heart of Aramco already spooked some investors, with one ratings company already downgrading the oil giant.
"The oil traders, they saw this as a non-event, and that means it is really safe," said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Saudi Aramco Chairman. "That's what the money is saying."
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