Sources close to the initial public offering have told AFP that Aramco is expected to sell a total of five percent on two exchanges, with a first listing of two percent on the Tadawul Saudi bourse in December.
If confirmed, that would imply the kingdom is ready to accept a compromise of less than the $2 trillion that the crown prince has long insisted the state oil giant is worth.It remains to be seen whether Saudi authorities are able to find “a compromise between the crown prince’s stated preference and market realities in their valuation of Aramco,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute in the United States.
Aramco, which pumps around 10 percent of the world’s oil, is the most profitable company globally and is seen as the kingdom’s crown jewel and the backbone of its economic and social stability. Riyadh is also reportedly seeking to get wealthy Saudi families to buy a stake in the company while some Saudi commentators have sought to promote investment in the stock as a patriotic duty.