Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest energy company, is fully prepared for a hotly anticipated public share offering in the second half of 2018, says Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser.
It is just waiting for one thing, says Nasser. The green light from its sole shareholder: the Saudi government.
“In terms of readiness, we are ready. As we always said, the company by the second half of 2018 will be ready,” Nasser told CNBC in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The sale of roughly 5 percent of Aramco is expected to value the company at $1 to $2 trillion, making it the largest initial public offering ever. The IPO is the cornerstone of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to create the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and diversify Saudi Arabia‘s oil-dependent economy.
But rumors about delays to the share sale have long swirled, fueled by the slow drip of information on key aspects of the IPO, including where the shares will be listed.
