Dinesh Nair and Archana NarayananDubai — Saudi Arabia is restarting preparations for a potential initial public offering of oil giant Aramco, months after putting the planned listing on hold, people familiar with the matter say.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also keen to list Aramco in New York, but advisers are wary of opening up the company to the risks of US litigation. Bin Salman has insisted that the IPO will still take place in 2020 or 2021.After working with banks for more than two years, Aramco formally put the IPO plans on hold last year and instead decided to buy a $69bn stake in local chemical giant Saudi Basic Industries .
The IPO project was first announced in 2016 as the cornerstone of the Vision 2030 plan to modernise the Saudi economy, with a target of listing in the second half of 2018. The kingdom wants to raise a record $100bn from selling a 5% stake in Aramco, which would make it the biggest IPO in history and a windfall for any banks that win a role.