Saudi king Salman bin Abdul Aziz has stepped in to block a plan to float a 5 percent stake in Saudi Aramco in the stock market, which is led by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Reuters news agency quoted three well-informed sources as saying. But observers doubt that the Saudi king may have intervened in this crisis, and they see that the crown prince hides the failure of this project hidden in the cloak of the king.
The agency considered the decision to be a serious blow to the reform program "Saudi Arabia Vision 2030" put forward by the Saudi Crown Prince. And indicates that King Salman is working to limit the unilateral powers of his son.
The decision to suspend Aramco came after King Salman met members of the royal family, bankers and senior oil executives, including a former Aramco chief executive. These consultations were held during the month of Ramadan, which ended in mid-June.
The sources said that the figures interviewed by the king told him that the initial public offering would not be in the interest of the Kingdom and could even negatively affect it. The sources said that the main concern of these figures is that this offer will push Aramco to disclose full details of all financial.
Observers doubt
But observers and commentators have questioned that Saudi King Salman would actually have to back down on Aramco's privatization project and believe that Riyadh's announcement today is just a fabricated story leaked to the international press for face-saving, compared to previous events in which sources at the Royal Court Close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman using global media platforms to pass information geared to serve his goals.
One of the most prominent of these was when Prince Salman gave the impression last year that Riyadh had agreed to the so-called "Deal of the Century" - the administration's vague plan to bring peace to the Middle East, including the American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Saudi Arabia, when he met with the Muslim and Arab public opinion, accused Saudi Arabia of "selling Palestine." Information that accuses former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef of using drugs was also leaked following the anger and shock caused by his dismissal.
Observers now point out that the crown prince is the one who backs away from Aramco's plan by saying that King Salman rarely appears or practices public activities, which is unlikely to be involved in the events of the kingdom, while his crown prince is actually running the affairs of government.
Gradual regression
Last week, Reuters said in a report that the deal was frozen, but Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih went on to say that the government was committed to implementing the IPO in the future " In the appropriate circumstances, and in a timely manner chosen by the government. "
"We are surprised that Reuters insists despite this statement and despite the government's continued aggressive planning of the initial public offering to ask questions that the plans have stopped," a senior official commented on the freezing story published last week.
"The owner of Aramco's shares is the Saudi government, and King Salman has been entrusted with managing the initial public offering of the crown prince and a committee of energy, finance and economy ministers," the official said.
But the sources, who declined to reveal their identity, told the news agency that the king sent a letter in late June to the Royal Court requesting the cancellation of the plan to put forward the shares of Aramco, saying that his decision was irreversible.
It was customary in Saudi Arabia to be the king of the last word, but he was absent from the scene during many of the recent major events affecting the foundations of the policy of Saudi Arabia, to be linked to this decision, which represents a major blow to the reform program called "vision of the Kingdom 2030 "Which was proposed by the Crown Prince and aims to bring about a fundamental change in the Saudi economy, which is the main engine of the state and depends heavily on oil.
Some investors say this also raises doubts about Riyadh's management of IPO and its commitment to greater transparency in the management of the economy.
Two years of promises
Saudi Arabia has been preparing for the last two years to put Aramco in the stock market. Officials with international bourses, global banks and even US President Donald Trump have continued to promote the plan.
The inclusion of Aramco on the exchange was expected to become the cornerstone of the promised economic reform program in the Kingdom, with a target of $ 100 billion, the largest ever public offering of its kind.
However, after the project faced setbacks over the course of months, it was decided to cancel the international and local shares of the IPO before King Salman intervened to stop the plan.