aramco iPO turns inwards

摘要

Riyadh has scaled back the initial public ofering (IPO) of state-owned Saudi Aramco to an overwhelmingly domestic event, aiming for the best possible valuation of a lower-than-expected stake, which is likely to be oversubscribed by local investors. The government has had to settle for a valuation of around $1.7 trillion, substantially below the $2 trillion that Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman initially declared as a minimum in April 2016, when the oil giant’s part privatisation was frst announced. Some valuations suggested by foreign banks participating in running the ofering came in as low as $1.1 trillion.