Saudi National Oil Company Aramco
Sale of 1.545 Billion Shares, Representing 0.64% of Total Stake
Shares to Trade on Local Stock Market Starting from the 9th
Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco has successfully completed a stock sale worth 17 trillion won. This stock sale is expected to give momentum to large-scale Saudi government projects such as 'NEOM,' which had been struggling with funding pressures.
According to major foreign media including Bloomberg on the 2nd (local time), the Aramco shares worth $12 billion (16.6 trillion won) were all sold within a few hours as soon as the reservation for the sale began. Due to the surge in investor demand immediately after the reservation started, the Aramco shares sold at prices ranging from 26.70 riyals (9,800 won) to 29 riyals (10,700 won) were quickly sold out.
The banks participating in the purchase on that day will accept institutional orders until the 6th and set the stock price the following day. After that, trading of these shares will be possible on the Saudi Riyadh stock exchange starting from the 9th. Although the exact participation of foreign investors has not been officially confirmed, sources say that the order book includes a mix of Saudi and overseas investors.
The total number of shares offered in this sale is 1.545 billion, which corresponds to 0.64% of Aramco's total shares. The Saudi government can raise an additional $1.2 billion (1.66 trillion won) by exercising an option. The Saudi government holds more than 82% of Aramco's shares. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF separately owns 16%, and the remainder is owned by general investors.
This sale is considered one of the largest stock sales worldwide since Aramco's listing. Thanks to the successful completion of this stock sale, large-scale projects led by the Saudi government are expected to be relieved from short-term funding pressures. Saudi Arabia has been actively promoting economic diversification projects in AI, sports, and tourism sectors, including the new city NEOM, in preparation for oil depletion.
Aramco shares are attractive to investors due to their high dividend yield compared to peer companies. According to market research firm FactSet, as of the 30th of last month, Aramco's dividend yield was 6.6%, higher than Chevron's 4.2% and ExxonMobil's 3.3%. On the local stock market, Aramco shares closed at 28.45 riyals (about 10,460 won), down 1.9% from the previous session. Since Bloomberg first reported the intention to sell additional shares earlier this year, Aramco's stock price has fallen about 14% and is currently trading at its lowest level in a year. The company's market capitalization is approximately $1.8 trillion (2,500 trillion won).
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allied group OPEC+ agreed to maintain the current official daily oil production cut of 2 million barrels until the end of next year to stabilize the oil market. Currently, OPEC+'s total production cut is about 5.86 million barrels per day, of which 2 million barrels are the official cuts allocated to all participating countries.
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