Attempting to predict what will happen with the initial planned offering (IPO) of state oil giant Saudi Aramco has become an activity akin to tea leaf reading for Saudis, the international press and global bankers. While then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first announced plans to float 5% of Aramco's shares in 2016, little official information has been released since. Saudi officials insist the planned listing is still due to happen by the second half of this year, even as that deadline looks impossible to meet -and some analysts even question whether the IPO will happen at all.
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