Saudi Arabia is working towards listing Saudi Aramco in 2020-21 as the state oil giant moves towards completing its merger with petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries Corp, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday.
“The IPO process was never fully suspended,” he explained.
“We have always been clear that the IPO will happen in the 2020-2021 timeframe. We have never stopped talking about the IPO.”
Al-Falih pointed to Aramco’s $69.1 billion acquisition of a 70 percent stake in SABIC along with a recent $12 billion bonds sale as the main reason for the IPO delay.
“Now that all of these issues have been cleared, we are ready to start planning for the IPO,” he said.
Bloomberg earlier reported on Tuesday that Saudi Aramco recently held talks with a group of investment banks to discuss roles in its potential initial public offering, citing people familiar with the matter.
