RIYADH – Saudi authorities have effectively delayed plans for floatingstate-run Aramco oil company on the stock market after attacks on oilinstallations east of the kingdom earlier this month.
The Reuters news agency cited sources with direct knowledge of Aramco’sfuture plans as saying on Tuesday that initial public offering (IPO) of thecompany would not take place this year despite pledges given by seniorSaudi energy officials that the listing would take place by early November.
“They need to build confidence – in addition to restoring production,” saidone of the sources, making a reference to September 14 attacks by Yemen’sruling Ansarullah movement on Aramco’s Khurais and Abqaiq plants, whichprocess and clean crude.
Aramco officials had said last year that the company would offer onepercent of its shares for sale on the domestic stock market as early asNovember 2019.
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The IPO had been expected as a first step for the company to sell fivepercent of stakes and raise at least $100 billion to help the Saudigovernment fund an ambitious plan for modernizing its economy anddiversifying it away from oil.
