Saudi Arabia is most likely to hold the initial public offering (IPO) of oil giant Aramco in 2019, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Friday, confirming a delay from the initial plan to list the company this year. "The timing I think will depend on the readiness of the market, rather than the readiness of the company or the readiness of Saudi Arabia," Khalid Al-Falih, who's also the company's chairman, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia on Friday."We are ready, the company essentially has ticked all the boxes," he said. "We're simply waiting for a market readiness for the IPO." For almost two years, Saudi officials said the IPO was "on track, on time" for the second half of 2018. But for the first time in March they suggested it could be delayed until 2019. "Most likely it will be in 2019 but we will not know until the announcement has been made," Al-Falih said. "All I could say is stay tuned." The Aramco IPO would be a once-in-a-generation event for financial markets. Saudi officials said they hope to raise a record $100 billion by selling a 5 percent stake, valuing the company at more than $2 trillion and dwarfing the $25 billion raised by Chinese retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2014. Source: Arab News
