Saudi Arabia sets new test for int'l interest with $13.1 billion Aramco sale

Saudi Arabia and its bankers will on June 2 morning start taking orders for as much as $13.1 billion worth of shares in its energy giant Aramco, opening a new tab, in a major test of international investor interest in its market.

According to Reuters, in a long-anticipated announcement on May 30, the kingdom and Aramco detailed plans to sell up to 0.7% of the state-controlled oil company, with 10% of the offering reserved for retail investors, based on demand.

Order-taking will run through June 6 and the deal will price on June 7.

The offering - codenamed Project Bond according to sources - has been trailed for months as a key step in diversifying the company's investor base since its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) in 2019, as well as for its potential to further fuel the kingdom's massive economic diversification programme.

It also marks a test of interest in Saudi markets after lukewarm interest from international investors in the 2019 flotation amid concerns about a high valuation, Saudi government control and the energy transition away from hydrocarbons.

International investors have been similarly reticent about the kingdom's mega-projects, from beach resorts to new cities.
Investors buying into Aramco will need to weigh environmental concerns against its rich payouts.

"Since the IPO, higher expectations on dividend payout and oil price have outweighed lower expectations on output," said Hasnain Malik, head of equity research, at Dubai-based Tellimer.

"That improvement in the cash flow available for shareholders may not be enough to entice those foreign investors that did not participate in the IPO because of environmental concern on fossil fuels or governance concern on the priorities of the dominant sovereign shareholder."

When asked about whether there had been any interest from so-called anchor investors to take a major chunk of the offering, Aramco Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed gave little away.

He noted the shares are on sale above the IPO price - within a range of 26.7 riyals ($7.12) to 29 riyals, after they closed at 29.1 riyals on Thursday, valuing the company at $1.87 trillion. Aramco's IPO valued it at $1.7 trillion.

The sale comes as stock offerings globally have reached $247.4 billion in the year to date, the highest level since 2021, according to Dealogic data. It will be one of the biggest share sales in the last decade.