Saudi Aramco IPO pushes Tadawul bourse to top exchanges for fundraising, but Hong Kong remains No 1 globally
- State-owned oil company’s IPO raises US$25.6 billion, topping Alibaba Group Holding’s record offering in 2014
- Hong Kong among bourses that pushed for dual listing of Aramco’s shares
Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil producer of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has raised US$25.6 billion in its much-anticipated initial public offering, propelling the Saudi stock exchange into the top bourses globally.
Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Aramco, set the final price of its shares, to be traded on the Tadawul exchange in Riyadh, at 32 riyals (US$8.53) each, at the top end of the expected range and valuing the world’s most profitable company at US$1.7 trillion. It received total bids for shares of US$119 billion.
The IPO, which surpassed the US$25 billion record fundraising five years ago in New York by Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of the South China Morning Post, is a landmark achievement for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his ambition to overhaul the kingdom’s economy.
The Aramco offering moved Tadawul to fourth globally for capital raising this year, with five offerings attracting a combined US$26.6 billion from investors, according to figures from financial data provider Dealogic. It has previously ranked 25th globally.
The Hong Kong stock exchange is number one globally, with 131 listings raising a combined US$37.2 billion this year, according to Dealogic. Alibaba raised US$12.9 billion in a secondary listing in Hong Kong last month, the third biggest technology offering on record behind its own IPO in 2014 and Facebook’s IPO two years earlier.