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Saudi Arabia is planning to sell almost half of Saudi Arabian Oil, the world’s largest oil company, al-Eqtisadiah reported.
A 49% stake will be sold within 10 years, according to the Riyadh-based newspaper, which cites an unidentified senior government official. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in April that an initial public offering is planned for 2018, or even a year earlier, with the country planning to sell less than 5%.
Saudi Arabia, under pressure from lower crude prices, has been planning the share sale as part of an effort to generate revenue and reform its economy. The government hopes to raise about $100 billion from the IPO of its flagship asset. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will use the proceeds, and eventually control more than $2 trillion and help wean the kingdom off oil.
“Going from 5 to 49% is a huge jump but if you do it gradually over 10 years and in small chunks it is possible,” John Sfakianakis, head of economics research at the Gulf Research Center in Riyadh, said by phone on Saturday. “The Saudis are looking at their sources of revenue beyond 10 years and they are asking what should we do more to diversify our non-oil income.”
The Saudi government relies heavily on oil sales for revenue, and its finances have taken a blow since prices started tumbling in 2014. Total projected revenue this year, at 528 billion riyals ($141 billion), is less than half what it collected in 2013, when oil was trading above $100 and made up 90% of revenue. Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed Friday at $55.16 a barrel.
Taking a company as large as Aramco to the market may pose challenges for Saudi Arabia. Selling any part of Saudi Aramco to the public will require “full audits and a large amount of transparency,” Paul Sullivan, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University in Washington, said by email on Saturday.
Bloomberg
