Not only is Saudi Aramco not considering a secondary listing for the moment, but the CEO also revealed that the Saudi Aramco will discuss the possibility of listing Aramco’s shares on an international stock exchange, but not at this point in time.

Last December, Saudi Aramco broke Alibaba’s record of being the world’s biggest initial public offering by listing its shares on the Riyadh Stock Exchange.

Recently, the Saudi-based oil giant signed a total of 66 memorandum of understanding (MoU) and strategic collaborations worth $21 billion under its In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) Programme.

The agreements were signed with international companies such as Hyundai Heavy Industry, Seimens, Aasia Steel, Oilfields Supply Center (OSC), Al-Khorayef Petroleum, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Schneider Electric, Honeywell, Advanced Electronic Company (IT), XDM 3D Printing, Shengong New Materials, XINFOO, and Saudi Exports Development Authority.

Amin Nasser told the media, “Future readiness is forged from a culture of excellence – by giving people the skills they need to succeed in the jobs of the future. We’re enabling a vibrant commercial ecosystem that will drive efficiency and reliability of our operations. Through effective governance, IKTVA has created infrastructure, streamlined processes, and built capabilities that improve return on investment and leverage greater value for our company.”

This week, Saudi Aramco also announced its plans to invest around $110 billion for the development of Al-Jafurah gas field. Aramco has already received regulatory approval. The Al-Jafurah gas field is located southeast of Ghawar, the world’s biggest conventional oil field.

Aramco is the most profitable company in the world and the only company to reach a valuation of $2 trillion.

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According to the central bank, the digital banking guidelines of Saudi Arabia complement its banking licensing guidelines and minimum criteria.

These new digital banking guidelines issued by Saudi Arabia must be considered as additional conditions to be met along with the licensing guidelines for conventional banks, according to SAMA.

In a statement, SAMA said, “The additional guidelines are to keep up with the developments in the financial and information technology sectors and to achieve the objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) and Saudi Vision 2030 by developing the digital economy.”

According to the new digital banking guidelines issued by Saudi Arabia, digital banks must set up as a locally incorporated joint-stock company and also maintain a physical presence in the kingdom. They must also possess technological knowledge and have experience in the financial sector.

The digital banks also must have a clear business plan which includes IT infrastructure, financial projections, and a target segment. In some cases, digital banks operating in Saudi Arabia may have to set up consumer grievance centres, since digital banks don’t have physical branches.

Last year, SAMA started processing applicants for three new banking licences in the kingdom. Reportedly, two of the new licences will be for traditional banks and one will be for a digital bank.

During the same period, Saudi Arabia also updated its banking as well as digital banking licensing guidelines with an aim to make it easier for banks to apply.

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Vakt is a consortium of leading energy companies such as Aramco, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Equinor, Gunvor, Koch, Mercuria, ABN Amro, ING, Societe Generale, Chevron, Reliance, and Total.

According to media reports, the fund received from Aramco will be used to upgrade Vakt’s platform and plan for expansion in Southeast Asia.

Aramco’s subsidiary and trading company Aramco Trading is also expected to start using Vakt’s blockchain-enabled platform.

Vakt, which launched its trading platform in 2018, provides a smooth process from trade entry to settlement by completely eliminating paper-based processes and manual accounting practices.

Hans Middelthon, managing director of SAEV Europe told the media, “Vakt has demonstrated that their platform has the potential to digitise what is currently a very manual process.”

Interestingly, this is not the first time Aramco is investing in a blockchain company. Previously, Aramco took part in a $6 million funding round for Houston-based blockchain startup Data Gumbo. The investment was made through Aramco’s subsidiary Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.

Last year, Aramco raised around $25.6 billion in its IPO by listing its shares on the Riyadh Stock Exchange. Aramco IPO broke Alibaba’s record to become the biggest IPO ever.

After its IPO, Aramco became the most valuable listed company in the world, ahead of Apple which is valued at $1.2 trillion. Aramco became the only company to reach the coveted $2 trillion valuation.

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has targeted the coveted $2 trillion valuation for Saudi Aramco since he first announced Aramco’s plans to sell a small slice of the state-owned company.

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After its IPO, Aramco became the most valuable listed company in the world, way ahead of Apple which is valued at $1.2 trillion. Now, Aramco became the only company to reach the coveted $2 trillion valuation.

After the first day of trading, Aramco was valued at $1.88 trillion. Its stocks gained almost 10 percent on its second day of trading.

According to media reports, Aramco gained nearly $300 billion in value since its shares debuted on the Tadawul earlier this week.

The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has targeted the coveted $2 trillion valuation for Saudi Aramco since he first announced Aramco’s plans to sell a small slice of the state-owned company. However, experts at that time argued it to be unrealistic. They expected the oil behemoth to be valued at around $1.5 trillion instead.

Ahead of its IPO, Aramco settled in for a valuation somewhere between $1.6 trillion and $1.8 trillion. However, now Aramco has finally achieved the $2 trillion valuation.

According to Samba Capital, which managed the IPO, around 97 percent of retail investors who received shares were from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And more than 75 percent of shares sold to institutional investors went to Saudi companies, funds, and government institutions.

Recently, some experts predicted that the coveted $2 trillion valuation for Aramco was possible after all.

According to them, high demand, reduced production and the decision to incentivise those who hold their shares for about six months, are going to drive share prices up and exceed targets.

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