SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince insists stalled Aramco IPO is on track
Riyadh/London — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince maintains the stalled plan to sell shares in oil giant Aramco will go ahead, promising an initial public offering by 2021 and sticking to his ambitious view that the state-run company is worth $2-trillion or more. The comments show 33-year-old Mohammed bin Salman’s determination to press ahead with the IPO even after Riyadh’s original timetable was undone by scepticism about the company’s valuation and a plan for Aramco to buy a controlling stake in the country’s biggest chemical producer. "I believe late 2020, early 2021," he said, discussing the timing of the IPO in an interview at the royal palace in Riyadh. "The investor will decide the price on the day. I believe it will be above $2-trillion because it will be huge." The IPO project was first announced in 2016 as the cornerstone of the prince’s Vision 2030 plan to modernise the Saudi economy. Officials said repeatedly the deal was "on track on time" for the second half of 2018, but sa...
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