Aramco IPO To Go Ahead But 'no Plan' To List Abroad

Saudi Aramco said on Sunday it has no current plans for a foreign share listing, indicating that long-discussed plans for a two-stage IPO including an offering on a foreign bourse had been put aside.

"For the (international) listing part, we will let you know in due course. So far it's only on Tadawul," Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan told a press conference, referring to the Saudi stock exchange.

Hong Kong was among a number of bourses that had hoped to lure what could be the world's biggest ever initial public offering (IPO), alongside London and Tokyo.

Saudi regulators approved Aramco's IPO request earlier on Sunday. The Capital Markets Authority did not give any details of the IPO it is expected to begin trading in mid-December.

The markets regulator "has issued its resolution approving the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)... application for the registration and offering of part of its shares," it said in a statement on its website.

The sale, which could value the company at up to US$1.7 trillion, is the linchpin of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to revamp the economy and wean it off a decades-long dependence on oil. (AFP)

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