DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, on Thursday said that oil giant Saudi Aramco will hold further share sales.
He was speaking at the kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative conference.
Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, completed the world’s largest initial public offering in late 2019, raising $25.6 billion and later selling more shares to up the total to $29.4 billion.
On Tuesday, the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said Aramco may consider selling more shares if market conditions are right.
Aramco’s shares were down 0.14% on Thursday at 34.75 riyals ($9.26), above its IPO price of 32 riyals. Thursday’s closing price valued the company at $1.86 trillion.
The Aramco initial public offering was seen as a pillar of economic diversification plans aimed at attracting foreign investment and reducing Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil revenues.
($1 = 3.7508 riyals)
Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by David Goodman, William Maclean