Aramco announced Sunday that it will formally list and list some of its shares in the local stock exchange, amid controversy over the company's valuation between the aspirations of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who gives himself a value of up to $ 2 trillion, and the opinion of bankers and experts who consider it worth less.

This comes as the main index of the Saudi Stock Exchange fell sharply today by about 2%, due to speculation of investors to sell shares in anticipation of the public offering of Aramco.

Aramco Chairman Yasser Al-Ramyan said Sunday that Aramco's IPO was "an important step towards achieving Vision 2030." "Aramco's approval of the Capital Market Authority for the IPO means that the IPO will start officially," he said.

The IPO of the world's most profitable company is the cornerstone of Bin Salman's economic plan.

Evaluation failed
Although the crown prince set a valuation of $ 2 trillion in early 2016, bankers and officials say Aramco is closer to $ 1.5 trillion.

The Saudi government had hoped to raise $ 100 billion - according to the company's value of two trillion dollars - in a process repeatedly delayed by several factors, including the decline in oil prices.

The IPO was postponed more than once because the valuation of the company, according to bankers' calculations after meetings with potential investors, was below what Salman was looking for.

Observers expect the small percentage of the oil giant to be floated on the basis of a valuation of the company between $ 1.5 trillion and 1.7 trillion, which means that the crown prince has decided to retreat from the ceiling he had already set.

"It remains to be seen whether the Saudi authorities will reach a compromise between what the crown prince wants and the reality of Aramco's valuation in the market," Christian Ulrichson, a researcher at the Baker Institute in the United States, told AFP.

"The repeated postponement of the offering and its submission as a key component of the Crown Prince's plan to transform Saudi Arabia makes international investors closely monitor Aramco's performance in the domestic market," the researcher said.

According to Agence France-Presse, said Chenzia Bianco - expert on Middle East affairs at the European Council on Foreign Relations - that the move to put on the domestic market "does not face significant obstacles compared to the process itself in the international stock exchange."

The domestic move "allows Prince Mohammed to show that he has kept his promises" on the IPO, it said.

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Is it the largest global offering?
The Saudi oil giant is likely to be sold in mid-December, with a second IPO followed by an unclear date.

Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said the company would issue the IPO on November 9.

Even with Aramco valued at $ 1.5 trillion, its value will still be at least 50% higher than the two most valuable companies in the world, Microsoft and Apple, which have a market value of about $ 1 trillion.

But 1% of the shares will raise only about $ 15 billion to state coffers, less than the record of $ 25 billion in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba from $ 201 billion in 201, Reuters reported.

Refinitiv's data show that the offering will put Aramco in 11th place for the largest IPO ever.

The sale of 2% of Aramco's shares, with a valuation of $ 1.5 trillion, would make it the biggest IPO ever, ahead of Alibaba.

Sources told Reuters that the oil company may offer between 1% and 2% of its shares on the local stock exchange to raise between 20 and 40 billion dollars.

The Saudi authorities tried to stimulate the local market to subscribe to the company before the IPO by inviting wealthy families to buy stakes, while local media promoted the purchase as a national business.

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No inclusion internationally
There is no international listing in any foreign market so far, said Aramco Chairman Yasser Al-Rumayyan.

"As for the (international) IPO, we will inform you in due course. Currently, the IPO is only for Tadawul," Al-Rumayyan told a news conference.

Wall Street has been on the lookout for the sale of Aramco, the world's largest oil company, to a stake since Mohammed bin Salman made the announcement three years ago.

Hopes for a successful international listing of about 5% of the company were shattered when the sale was halted last year, amid controversy over where Aramco is listed abroad.

Aramco said today it plans to announce a total dividend of at least $ 75 billion in common stock in 2020.

That would mean a 5% return on the stock if the company were valued at $ 1.5 trillion, lower than that offered by competitors such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell.

According to Refinitiv's data, dividends at Shell are over 6% and Exxon is more than 5%.

Aramco reported a net profit of $ 68 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30.

Fears
Observers believe that the attack on Aramco in mid-September has led to growing concerns accompanied by global investors about the Kingdom's ability to protect one of the most important global energy facilities.

But Aramco said in the statement it did not expect the attacks to have a material impact on the business, financial situation or company results.

Major oil companies are also raising shareholder payments to cope with growing pressure from climate activists.

The growing climate change movement and the use of new green technologies have prompted some fund managers, particularly in the United States and Europe, to move away from the oil and gas sectors.

But Aramco's chief executive, Amin al-Nasser, told the news conference that Aramco was focusing on reducing greenhouse gases.

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Stock market .. deferred gains
SALAH SHAMA, director of Middle East and North Africa investment at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets, said some local investors could sell other shares in order to convert their investments to Aramco, while it would become "immediate pain for future gains."

Observers earlier said they believed Aramco's initial public offering may have put pressure on the Saudi stock market.

"If the listing is locally at a preferential price, it will be a good opportunity for the traders," said Taha Abdul Ghani, general manager of Namaa Financial Advisors.

Saudi shares fell sharply on Sunday under the influence of financial and petrochemical stocks.

The Saudi index fell 2.3% in the first hours of trading, before it reduced some of its losses to close the main index down about 2%.

Today's session witnessed a decline for most of the shares traded, led by "Al Rajhi Bank" by about 2%, while "SABIC" closed down 1%.

In October, the Saudi index fell 4.7%.