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When the idea of a public float for Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil behemoth Aramco was first suggested by the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016, it was dubbed the "mother of initial public offerings (IPOs)" with fancy chatter of a $2 trillion valuation via domestic and international listings. Over three years and several delays later, with an international listing firmly parked for the moment, the Saudi Aramco IPO is finally upon the market via a domestic listing on the Saudi stock exchange – the Tadawul. If market commentators thought rumors of a mere 5% of the equity of the state-owned oil giant would be on offer internationally, with the percentage being well below the minimum listing requirements of several global exchanges, the latest move of offering much less than that – possibly a mere 2% – via a domestic listing is unlikely to instill confidence. A decline in profits, scant details on listing and low oil prices are unlikely to provide the ideal It won’t be helped by Aramco’s revelation on Monday (November 4) that its nine-month profit fell 18% to $68.2 billion, down from $83.1 billion posted over the same period a year ago, while its […]
