Aramco IPO will come soon, Saudi Crown Prince to decide: Energy minister

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IPO, , Saudi Crown Prince, Aramco IPO, Aramco, Oil market,

Riyadh - Aramco aims to announce the start of its IPO on November 3.

By Reuters

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Published: Wed 30 Oct 2019, 1:50 PM

Last updated: Thu 31 Oct 2019, 2:06 PM

The initial public offering (IPO) for state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco will come soon, and will be a decision taken by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom's energy minister said on Wednesday.
Aramco aims to announce the start of its IPO on November 3, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, after delaying the deal earlier this month to give advisers time to secure cornerstone investors.
"It is going to come soon ... but it will come at the right time with the right approach and definitely with the right decision," the minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said in a speech at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
"And it will be a Saudi decision first and foremost," he said. "Specifically, Prince Mohammed's decision."
The prospect of Aramco selling a piece of itself has had Wall Street on tenterhooks since Prince Mohammed first flagged it three years ago.
Aramco is looking to float a 1 per cent to 2 per cent stake on the Tadawul market, in what would be one of the largest ever public offerings, worth upwards of $20 billion.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday Aramco's IPO would be a "great opportunity" for developing Saudi Arabia's capital markets.
The much-anticipated stock market listing was delayed earlier this month after deal advisers said they needed more time to lock in cornerstone investors, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week.


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