Saudi Arabia issues hold order on its plan to list shares of Aramco - a state-owned oil company, on the stock exchange, two unnamed sources familiar with the issue revealed on Wednesday. If this pushes through, the deal would then be considered the biggest of its kind in history.
According to CBS News, the Saudi government is casting doubts whether or not to pursue its initial plans to put shares of the global energy giant firm for public offering both in the United States and abroad.
As reported earlier, KSA was looking to sell 5 percent ownership share of the mega-oil company.
A couple of informants who claimed first-hand knowledge of the Kingdom's decision revealed that the committee of financial advisors convened for the proposed listing deal has already been disbanded. All the while, KSA is now reportedly shifting its focus on putting a "strategic stake" in the domestic petrochemical company, Saudi Basic Industries Corp.
The Saudi source went on to say, as cited over at India Times, the move to hold off the initial public offering (IPO) of Aramco was in fact, already made "some time ago." However, the information remained undisclosed, the reference person added.
The proposed Aramco IPO plan was reportedly spearheaded by the current Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi prince has long been working on his reform drive to restructure the kingdom's economy which could lead the country to totally ditch its dependence on oil revenue.
The sale of Aramco's shares, according to bin Salman, could pave way for Western regulatory bodies to take a closer look at the company. It may also as well help raise cash which the country sorely needed to offset its budget deficit.
Saudi Aramco or the Saudi Royal Court has yet to release an official statement to either confirm or debunk the reports.
However, a contradicting report broadcast over at BBC indicated that the Saudi family may really want for the IPO to happen.
According to the news outlet, Riyadh has denied the reports that it is canceling its initial plans to sell Aramco shares to the public.
Furthermore, a representative from Saudi's energy ministry allegedly confirmed that the government would indeed proceed with the IPO of Saudi Aramco. The agency did say that it will happen "at a time of its own choosing."
Initial projections on the IPO sale puts the value of Aramco at around USD$2 trillion.
