MOSCOW: A plan to list Saudi Aramco in 2018 is on track, senior Saudi officials said in Moscow on Thursday.
The plan to float around 5 percent of Aramco in an initial public offering (IPO) is a centerpiece of Vision 2030, a wide-ranging reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is being championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Work is ongoing to list Saudi Aramco in 2018,” Aramco’s Chief Executive Amin Nasser said at an energy forum in Moscow.
“We will be looking at (evaluating) investors as we continue to make progress related to timing and location.”
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, who is also Aramco’s chairman, said on Thursday that the IPO would happen in the second half of 2018, adding that the listing would be used as a “catalyst” for the opening up of the Saudi economy.
The announcement about the company’s IPO will be made “in due course,” he said while taking part in a panel discussion of an energy forum in Moscow.
Crown Prince Mohammed has said the IPO, which could be the world’s biggest, will value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion and could raise as much as $100 billion.
Money raised from the sale will be used to develop other sectors and industries in the country.
Aramco’s listing is planned on Saudi Arabia’s local stock market plus at least one overseas exchange. New York, London and Hong Kong are the main contenders.
Nasser said the Saudi government would decide on the listing venue and that there were no current talks with Russian companies on them taking part in the IPO.
Both Al-Falih and Nasser are part of an official Saudi visit to Moscow.
King Salman is in Russia on a state visit, the first to Moscow by a reigning Saudi monarch.
Several investment agreements will be signed during King Salman’s trip and plans for a $1-billion fund to invest in energy projects are likely to be finalized. These are part of efforts by two of the world’s biggest oil producers to increase cooperation.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday Russia and Saudi Arabia would sign joint investment agreements worth more than $3 billion during the visit.
One of those was a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday between Aramco and Russia’s oil trading company Litasco. Other similar agreements with Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, and Sibur will also be signed.
Nasser said Aramco was discussing several investment opportunities with Russian firms.
“LNG (liquefied natural gas) is one of the areas where we are looking to collaborate with Russian partners,” he said, giving an example of the MoUs that will be signed with Gazprom and Gazprom Neft
The Russian Direct Investment Fund on Thursday will also sign an MoU with Aramco and the Public Investment Fund for investments in energy services and manufacturing.
Saudi Aramco IPO on track for 2018
Saudi Aramco IPO on track for 2018
Closing Bell: Saudi Arabia’s main index closes in red at 10,364
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower on Sunday, shedding 185.05 points, or 1.75 percent, to end the session at 10,364.03.
Total trading turnover on the benchmark index stood at SR2.55 billion ($680 million), with 20 stocks advancing and 237 declining.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also retreated, falling 0.63 percent, or 147.19 points, to close at 23,371.82.
The MSCI Tadawul Index slipped 1.71 percent to 1,369.56.
Saudi Industrial Export Co. was the top gainer on the main market, with its share price jumping 9.87 percent to SR2.56.
Shares of Naqi Water Co. rose 2.53 percent to SR58.80, while Shatirah House Restaurant Co. advanced 2.18 percent to SR9.39.
On the downside, Gulf Union Alahlia Cooperative Insurance Co. posted the steepest decline, with its share price falling 4.61 percent to SR10.14.
On the announcements front, Scientific & Medical Equipment House Co. said it had been awarded a contract valued at SR260.98 million by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development to supply uncooked food materials and catering items to beneficiaries at the ministry’s residential branches across the Kingdom.
The project scope also includes providing cooked meals to selected anti-begging offices over a 24-month period, according to a Tadawul statement. The company added that the financial impact of the contract will begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
It said further developments would be disclosed in due course after all relevant parties sign the final contract and a copy is received.
Shares of Scientific & Medical Equipment House Co. edged up 0.31 percent to SR32.44.
Separately, Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Co. and its subsidiaries signed an agreement with Oloof Development Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Jazan Municipality, to lease a strategic land plot in Jazan City for SR217.99 million.
According to a Tadawul statement, the land, which spans 34,581 sq. meters, will be used to develop an integrated healthcare facility under a 50-year lease.
The company said the financial impact of the agreement is expected to begin once the medical facility is completed and becomes operational.
Shares of Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Co. fell 1.92 percent to SR33.74.
