When shares of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company begin trading on Wednesday after the world’s largest initial public offering, the stars will be aligned to ensure that the stock price holds up.
Aramco sold $25.6 billion of shares at 32 riyals each, the top of the range at which they were marketed, and the company had orders for $119 billion of stock. About 4.9 million individual investors, almost 15% of the kingdom’s population, applied for the shares. Saudi Arabia sold only 1.5% of the company’s capital in the IPO.
That unsatisfied demand alone should ensure a strong first day of trading. But Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman isn’t leaving anything to chance. His half-brother, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, predicted on Friday that Aramco’s value will soon surge, just after the kingdom announced production cuts that were taken as supportive for oil prices.
