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Saudi Arabia Formally Launches Initial Public Offering for the Lucrative Aramco Oil Firm

The kingdom hopes local investors will push the share prices toward a desired $2 trillion valuation, making it the world’s most valuable listed company.

After years of delays and false starts, Saudi Arabia formally began an initial public offering (IPO) for around 2 percent of its Aramco oil firm on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Analysts have suggested that the kingdom hopes wealthy local and foreign investors will help push the valuation of the company to $2 trillion, which would make it the world’s most valuable listed company. “We want to share the Aramco shares with the citizens of Saudi Arabia,” Yasir al-Rumayyan, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund governor, said Sunday. “We want to get financial investors from all over the world.” The oil production plant was damaged after an attack on Sep. 14.