Saudi Aramco denies FT report, says IPO on track

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KUALA LUMPUR: Saudi Arabia is still going ahead with the initial public offering (IPO) of its state oil company and the process is on track for 2018.

In a twitter message, Saudi Aramco stated on Monday that the Financial Times report on its IPO was “entirely speculative”. 

“All listing venues under review for optimal decision, IPO process is on track for 2018,” it said. 

There was speculation Saudi Arabia was considering delaying the international portion of Saudi Aramco's giant IPO until at least 2019.

A Bloomberg report, quoted sources, who said a domestic share sale in Riyadh could still happen next year.

A two-stage Saudi Aramco IPO is one of several options being considered, the sources said. 

Another plan would include listing in Riyadh next year and privately selling a stake in Aramco to one or several cornerstone investors, according to the Bloomberg report.

Aramco said in a Twitter message on Saturday that all listing venues were under review for the IPO, expected to be the largest in history, and reports that a local listing in 2018 could be combined with a stake sale to a Chinese investor  were “entirely speculative”.

Bloomberg said the IPO is the centrepiece of a broad-ranging economic reform programme proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, the dominant political force in the kingdom. 

Any delay would be a setback to his plans as well as the plethora of international investment banks and international exchanges eyeing millions in fees and commissions.

Saudi Arabia has been making contingency plans for a possible delay of the IPO, Bloomberg News reported last month.