Saudi Arabia transfers 4% stake in Aramco to state fund
Saudi Arabia's government has transferred a 4% interest in national oil company Saudi Aramco to the country's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on February 13.
The transfer was announced by Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and will "bolster the fund's strong financial position and high credit ratings in the medium term, SPA said. It supports PIF's plan to expand the assets under its management to 4 trillion riyals by the end of 2025, according to the news agency.
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Based on Aramco's current market capitalisation of $2 trillion, based on its share at the Riyadh-based Tadawul stock exchange, the 4% interest is worth $80bn. The Saudi state will remain the largest shareholder in the company, with a share of over 94%, according to SPA. A further 1.5% of stock was sold for $25.6bn during an initial public offering in December 2019.
Saudi Arabia is considering the listing of a further 2.5% stake in the company with the aim of raising $50bn, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.