The
offering could raise around $10 billion, one of the people said.
The preparations are ongoing and the details could still change,
the sources said, who were speaking on condition of anonymity
because the matter is private.
The shares will be listed in Riyadh and it will be a fully
marketed offering rather than an accelerated sale over a few
days, they added. The government's communication office and
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and HSBC had previously
been lined up to manage the sale, Reuters has reported.
Saudi Arabia has embarked on an economic transition known as
Vision 2030, which puts an expanded private sector and non-oil
growth at the center of its future development.The Saudi
government remains overwhelmingly Aramco's biggest shareholder,
with a 90% stake, and heavily relies on its payouts.
Aramco expects to pay $31 billion in dividends, the company said
earlier this month, despite reporting lower earnings for the
first quarter amid lower oil prices and volumes sold.
Since its initial public offering in 2019, the world's biggest
IPO, Aramco shares have risen from an IPO price of 32 riyals to
a high of 38.64 riyals a year ago. Its shares closed at 29.95
riyals on Thursday.
(Reporting by Hadeel Al-Sayegh and Federico Maccioni. Additional
reporting by Maha El Dahan and Rachna Uppal. Editing by Anousha
Sakoui, Elisa Martinuzzi and Marguerita Choy)
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