Saudi Aramco is primed and ready to launch a stock market listing before 2021, according to senior executive Khalid al-Dabbagh.
The world’s most profitable company on Monday revealed it made a US$46.9bn profit in the first six months of its financial year.
An IPO onto a major international stock market is expected to value Saudi Arabia’s national oil company at around US$2 trillion.
Precisely when the company will pull the trigger on the IPO is yet to be determined, and Khalid al-Dabbagh on the Aramco’s first ever investor call noted that it would be a “shareholder decision”.
“The company is ready for the IPO,” he said.
“The timing of the IPO itself, this is a shareholder issue. They will announce it depending on their perception of the optimal conditions.”
Aramco also revealed a deal to acquire a 20% in Reliance Industries’ refining and petrochemicals business, marking a deepening of ties to energy hungry India. The transaction values the Indian company at around US$75bn.