Saudi Arabia in talks with NYSE for Aramco IPO, says Jubeir

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir said that the Kingdom is in “serious discussions” with the New York Stock Exchange about the bourse being one of the exchanges for the state-owned giant oil company, Aramco’s IPO.

Aramco is set to start offering its shares for sale to major investors in Saudi Arabia and the world in the coming months.

The listing will create the world’s largest-ever sovereign investment fund, following the IPO. The state-owned giant oil company would rank among the world’s most valuable companies well above the American gigantic tech company Apple Inc.

Serious discussions

“Our objective is to try to complete the IPO sometime in 2018,” Jubeir said during an interview with Fox News. “There are serious discussions about having the NYSE to be one of the exchanges for Armco IPO.”

“I believe the decision will be made on bais of the financial merits,” he added.

This comes on the heel of a Saudi -Japanese announcement that Aramco and Tokyo Stock Exchange are considering forming a joint group to review probabilities of having the Japanese bourse be one of the exchanges for the Aramco IPO.

Saudi authorities plan to offer up to 5 per cent of the world’s largest oil producer on the local stock exchange - Tadawul – in addition to one or more global markets.

London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Toronto, and Tokyo are also feverishly competing for a slice of the first public offering, likely the largest of its kind in the world, with a potential revenue of $100 billion to the Kingdom.