HIGHLIGHTS
1. Saudi Aramco's initial public offering could be world's biggest
2. Aramco profit in 2018 was higher than Apple, Google, Exxon Mobil combined
3. Analysts say Saudi Aramco could be valued at up to $1.7 trillion
DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Aramco said Sunday it will list on the Riyadh stock exchange in what could be the world's largest IPO, underpinning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitions to overhaul the kingdom's oil-reliant economy.
After years of delays, Saudi Aramco finally fired the starting gun on the stock market debut, saying it was a "significant milestone" in the history of the energy giant which pumps 10 per cent of the world's oil.
With analysts saying that Aramco could be valued at up to $1.7 trillion, the initial public offering (IPO) could be the world's biggest, depending on how much of the company it decides to sell.
"Today marks a significant milestone in the history of the company and important progress towards delivering Saudi Vision 2030, the kingdom's blueprint for sustained economic diversification and growth," Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan said.
"Since its formation, Saudi Aramco has become critical to global energy supply," he said in a statement.
The final offer price and the number of shares to be sold "will be determined at the end of the book-building period", said the firm, which is headquartered in the eastern city of Dhahran.
Aramco had initially been expected to sell a total of five per cent on two exchanges, with a first listing of two per cent on the Tadawul Saudi bourse followed by a three per cent listing on an overseas exchange.
The company made no mention Sunday of a foreign listing but it did say that the Riyadh offering was open to institutional investors as well as Saudi individuals, foreigners resident in the kingdom and other Gulf citizens.
The world's most profitable company also released its results for the nine months to September, saying net profits came in at $68 billion. Aramco only began releasing interim financial results recently.
Its 2018 net profit of $111.1 billion is higher than the profits of Apple, Google and Exxon Mobil combined.