Saudi Arabia’s king in waiting says the stock market debut for the kingdom’s oil giant Aramco will go forward by early 2021.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave the update for the initial public offering in an interview with Bloomberg one month after Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia had scrapped plans to list shares in the company. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih disputed that report, saying the kingdom would take Aramco public when the time is right.
That time now appears to be just over two years from now, according to the crown prince, who is often referred to as MBS. The royal also reiterated his view that Aramco is worth $2 trillion, though analysts have said a $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion valuation is more likely.
The kingdom was originally targeting 2018 for the IPO.
Aramco did not immediately have a response to the interview.
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