Saudi Arabia oil giant Aramco, which is planning to execute the world’s largest IPO, is reportedly favouring Tokyo as an international destination to list its shares. The company had previously considered London and Hong Kong for the listing but the uncertainties in those markets prompted Aramco to choose another location.
Aramco decided to divide the IPO into two sections. The first phase will include debuting a portion of Aramco’s shares in the Saudi stock exchange later in 2019. The second phase will include the listing of the company’s shares in an international platform by 2020 or 2021.
Aramco had earlier announced its decision to sell 5 percent of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) to fund its plans of expanding into sectors beyond oil.
Although the plans for the Aramco IPO were to be executed in 2018, it did not materialise due to various reasons. Aramco initially planned to raise $100 billion dollars through the IPO, but the final number remains unclear.
The officials have stated that the no decisions regarding the Aramco IPO has been finalised yet.
The impending exit of UK from European Union has led to uncertainties in the country’s markets which might affect the IPO if the shares are listed there. The on-going protests in Hong Kong have brought the country on the verge of recession, thus removing it from the list of destinations most favoured by Aramco for its international listing.
Aramco stated that the execution of IPO will depend on the global market conditions.
Tokyo Stock Exchange has reported complete willingness for the listing of Aramco’s shares in its market.