Saudi Aramco – the world’s largest IPO has already crushed expectations.
On its first day, shares listed on the Saudi Tadawul were up 10%, giving it a valuation of $1.88 trillion. That’s also well above its earlier valuation of $1.7 trillion announced when the share pricing was disclosed days ago. Unbelievably, $1.88 trillion was still below estimates.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was hoping for $2 trillion.
Still, “We are happy on the results today. And you have seen the market responds to our results, the company will continue to be the leader globally when it comes to the energy sector and at the same time we are looking at sustained and growing dividends to our investors. At the same time, we continue our growth strategy, increasing profitability across cycles,” said Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, as quoted by CNBC.
At the moment, the stock only trades in Saudi Arabia.
According to CNN, “The vast majority of buyers for the stock are in Saudi Arabia. Samba Capital, which managed the IPO, said Tuesday that 97% of retail investors who received shares were from the country. More than 75% of shares sold to institutional investors went to Saudi companies, funds and government institutions.”
While there are hopes it’ll eventually list in the U.S., it shelved at the moment with concerns over lower oil prices, climate change, and geopolitical risks.
At the moment, the company is more valuable than Exxon M0bil, Chevron, and BP combined.
It’ll be interesting to see if the momentum can continue for the stock, and if it’ll reach the U.S.
