Cii Radio| Ayesha Ismail| 06 November 2017| 16 Safar 1439
President Donald Trump, who arrived in Japan on Sunday, said he spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia about listing national oil company Saudi Aramco’s shares in New York and that “they will consider using US exchanges.”
The remarks were made aboard Air Force One en route to Japan, where Trump kicks off a 12-day Asian trip during which North Korea is expected to top the agenda in meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other leaders.
The president had earlier expressed his desire for Aramco to list on the New York Stock Exchange in a Twitter post.
“I know they’re looking at London, I know they’re looking at others, they’re probably looking at themselves, they have a much smaller stock market,” the US president said.
“So I would like them to consider the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.”
The Aramco IPO is expected to be the largest in history, raising around $100 billion in much-needed revenue for the kingdom.
Aramco, which controls Saudi Arabia’s massive energy assets, plans to list nearly five percent of its shares on the stock market.
Trump’s remarks followed a Twitter missive posted from Hawaii ahead of the Asia trip: “Would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New York Stock Exchange. Important to the United States!”
Plans are to list the offering in the second half of 2018 on the Saudi stock market as well as an international exchange, with markets in New York and London vying for the business.
CEO Amin Nasser said in an interview with CNBC television in October that the listing venue “will be discussed and shared in due course.”
Source – Al Arabiya