Saudi Arabia says less than 5% of Aramco to be sold, world's largest fund of $2t eyed

Riyadh - IPO would be carried out inside kingdom, a move that will boost size of Saudi capital market

Saudi Arabia will sell shares in state oil giant Aramco and set up the world's largest wealth fund under a long-term economic reform plan, the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Monday.
The prince said the plan aimed to end the country's dependence on oil by 2020.
"We have all developed an oil addiction in Saudi Arabia and this is dangerous and has hampered development in many sectors during past years," Prince Mohammed said in on Al Arabiya.
"We plan to sell less than five per cent of Aramco. Aramco's size is very big. It is estimated at between $2 trillion and $2.5 trillion."
 
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He said the Aramco IPO would be carried out inside Saudi Arabia, a move that will boost the size of the Saudi capital market, already the largest in the Arab world. By "selling even one per cent of Aramco, it will be the largest IPO in the world," he said.
Proceeds from the Aramco sale will go into creating a giant new sovereign wealth fund. "We plan to set up a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund... part of its assets will come from the sale of a small part of Aramco," Prince Mohammed added.
The fund will include current Saudi fiscal assets of around $600 billion, as well as returns from the sales of Aramco shares and state-owned real estate and industrial areas estimated to be worth $1 trillion, he said.

• Saudi Arabia