Saudi’s CMA Officially Approves Aramco's Long-Awaited IPO

The Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA), has shortly announced its final approval over the launch of long-awaited Aramco’s Initial Public Offering (IPO).

In an official statement, Saudi’s Aramco announced that pricing will start on November 17 with a final price for the float expected to be announced on December 4.

According to CBS, to achieve $2 trillion, in the largest IPO in history, Riyadh needs the initial listing of a 1%-2% stake on the Saudi stock market to raise at least $20 billion-$40 billion.

Aramco's company will list on the Saudi Stock Exchange on December 11, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel confirmed last week.

The listing was first announced in 2016, in line with is the crown prince’s plan to shake up the Saudi economy and persify away from oil. There have been, however, various delays since then. Prince Mohammed wants to eventually list a total of 5% of the company.

Earlier in April, Aramco received bids for more than 10 times the $10 billion it was expected to raise in a debut international bond issue. Initially, the six-part deal had been expected to be at least $10 billion in size, but a source familiar with the situation said that orders have topped $100 billion.

According to CNBC, The first-ever debt issuance from Aramco has sparked massive global interest, with the move offering investors greater visibility into the financial performance of the world’s most profitable company. The offering comes ahead of plans to list a portion of Aramco on international stock markets in about two years.