Saudi In Talks to Sell 1% in Aramco to Foreign Investor

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed in an interview on Tuesday that the kingdom was looking at offloading 1% stake in Saudi Aramco to a leading global energy company. The sale could fetch the kingdom ~$19bn. The deal could also be followed by another secondary share offering within the next two years. The news comes within a day of the state-owned oil company seeking a stake sale in its natural gas pipeline network. The sale is aligned to the Vision 2030 of the nation through which it aims to diversify the Saudi economy. Aramco had first gone public in 2019 where it raised ~$30bn. The Crown Prince said, “I don’t want to give any promises about deals finalizing, but there are discussions happening right now about a 1% acquisition by one of the leading energy companies in the world,” adding, “This deal could be very important in strengthening Aramco’s sales in the country where this company resides.”