Aramco trading debut to make Saudi stock exchange world’s ninth-biggest
DUBAI : Saudi Aramco will instantly vault Saudi Arabia’s stock market into the ranks of the world’s largest when the oil producer’s shares begin trading Wednesday after its initial public offering.
The Saudi stock exchange will hold an opening auction for Aramco shares that will last from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. local time, 30 minutes longer than usual. Continuous trading will start after that, with price changes limited to 10% up or down.
Aramco raised $25.6 billion in the biggest-ever IPO, selling shares at 32 riyals each and valuing the company at $1.7 trillion, overtaking Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. as the most valuable listed company. Saudi officials have pulled out all the stops to ensure that the stock trades higher.
