Saudi Aramco to Sell 1.5% of Shares at SAR 32 Each

Saudi Aramco said in a statement on Sunday that it aims to sell 1.5% of its 200 billion shares at 30-32 riyals each.

Aramco could be worth between 6-6.4 trillion riyals, making it by far the world's most valuable company ahead of Apple. The kingdom is selling shares in Aramco for the first time as part of an economic persification plan aimed at stopping the reliance on oil.

[caption id="attachment_91517" align="aligncenter" width="731"] CEO of Aramco Amin Nasser & Chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan during a press conference in Dhahran[/caption]

Aramco holds a monopoly in Saudi Arabia, on of the world's largest exporter of crude. The Saudi company has vast oil reserves and massive output, making a $111 billion in profit last year, however,  low oil prices, global warming, and geopolitical risk have raised skepticism among investors globally.

Up to 0.5% of the company will be sold to inpiduals, with the remainder 1% offered to institutional investors. Inpiduals may include rich local families, or major customers such as Chinese.

According to Aramco, the price for the shares will be set at the beginning of next month, after being traded on the Saudi stock exchange.