The world's largest sovereign fund is not interested in Aramco and the IPO is in Bin Salman's hands

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said on Wednesday that the date for the public offering of oil giant Aramco was in the hands of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while the world's largest sovereign fund said it would not invest in the offering.

The Saudi minister said on the second day of the Forum for the Future of Investment in Riyadh that the IPO will happen soon, at the right time, and the appropriate approach.

He added that "the decision will certainly be Saudi, in the hands of Prince Mohammed." The IPO has been delayed more than once.

Failure to reach $ 2 trillion in Aramco's valuation was widely seen as the main reason for the delay in the 2018 IPO, and experts estimate the company to be worth $ 1.5 trillion.

Aramco aims to announce the launch of its IPO on November 3, after the process was postponed earlier this month to allow time for advisers to secure key investors, Reuters said on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Aramco is eyeing a 1 to 2 percent stake in the Riyadh bourse in what could become the largest IPO ever worth more than $ 20 billion.

What about Global Funds?
In Oslo, Norva Slengstad, chief executive of Norway's $ 1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Wednesday the fund was not planning to invest in Aramco's IPO.

"Saudi Arabia is not part of our benchmark," Slengstad told a news conference.

Chief Executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriyev, told Reuters on Tuesday that Russia's sovereign wealth fund would not make a huge investment in Aramco's IPO, as Russia is fully exposed to oil.

The IPO is the cornerstone of the Saudi Crown Prince's reform program to diversify the kingdom's economy and ease its dependence on oil.

Aramco opened its books for the first time since its nationalization 40 years ago to international rating agencies Fitch and Moody's in April as part of its preparations to raise funds from investors.

The giant made a net profit of $ 111 billion last year, surpassing the top five global oil companies, and achieved revenues of $ 356 billion.

In August, Aramco announced its mid-term revenue for the first time in its history, noting that it declined in the first half of 2019 to $ 46.9 billion, compared with $ 53 billion for the same period last year.

Aramco estimates its proven oil reserves at 277 billion barrels and its hydrocarbon reserves at 257 billion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for more than half a century, a high and comfortable level, according to Fitch.