Saudi Arabia to sell 49% stake in Aramco Oil Co.: report

Kuwait: Saudi Arabia is planning to sell almost half of Saudi Aramco Oil Co., the world’s largest oil company, Al-Eqtisadiah reported.

A stake of 49% will be sold within 10 years, according to the Riyadh-based newspaper, which cites an unidentified senior government official. The initial public offering of about a 5% stake has been planned for 2018, potentially valuing the company in trillions of dollars.

Saudi Arabia, under pressure from lower crude prices, has been planning the IPO as part of an effort to generate revenue and reform its economy. The government hopes to raise about $100 billion from the IPO of its flagship asset. The planned sale, which deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman announced in April, could be the world’s largest share offering.

“The Saudis are looking at their sources of revenue beyond 10 years and they are asking what should we do more to diversify our non-oil income,” John Sfakianakis, head of economics research at the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh, said by phone on Saturday. “It seems they decided to sell more Aramco shares and invest that money.”

Money from a 49% stake sale will be used by the Saudi Public Investment Fund on local and international projects, according to Eqtisadiah.

Saudi Aramco is planning to report its quarterly results starting next year, chief executive officer Amin Nasser said in November. The initial sale will involve all of the company, not just the refining business, he said in October. Bloomberg