Ryad (AFP)
The Saudi regulator of the financial market announced Sunday to have approved the IPO of the oil giant Aramco, kicking off this offer that could be the largest ever made in the world.
"The Council of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has issued its resolution approving the Saudi Arabian Oil Company's (Saudi Aramco) request for the sale of part of its shares," said a statement issued by the institution on its website. .
The regulator has not provided the steps of this IPO, but the securities transactions are expected to begin in mid-December.
This IPO is the cornerstone of a reform program of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed "MBS". It should value the company between $ 1,500 and 1,700 billion, the largest capitalization in the world, according to a source close to the record.
In 2018, the strong man of the Kingdom had decided to postpone the IPO because the capitalization calculated by the bankers, after meetings with potential investors, was below this threshold.
Subsequently, Aramco, which was to launch in October the first part of its introduction, decided to postpone the date to December or January.
According to the source close to the file, the schedule provides for a two-step entry: first on the Saudi local Stock Exchange, the Tadawul, in December, then, in 2020, on an international financial center yet to be defined.
Aramco is expected to sell a total of 5% of its capital, including 2% during its stock market baptism on Tadawul, said earlier this month sources close to the case at AFP.
© 2019 AFP