Shares of Saudi Arabia's Aramco rose on Sunday following a stock sale that's set to raise the state oil company around $11.2 billion.
Shares were trading around 28.85 Saudi riyals ($7.69) on the
Tadāwul Saudi stock exchange at 1:40 p.m. local time (6:40 a.m. ET), above the
stock sale offer price of 27.25 Saudi riyals. Pricing was at the lower end of
the initial 26.70-29 Saudi-riyal range.
There appears to have been no lack of demand for the
secondary offering, which was announced on May 30. Citing sources, Reuters
reported that demand for the offering topped $65 billion, and Aramco placed
over half of the sale with foreign investors. We are was unable to verify the
reporting.
It comes as Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with ambitious plans
to diversify its economy away from oil under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s
Vision 2030 program.
However, the plan — which includes a raft of “gigaprojects”
—has a hefty price tag, with its crown jewel, the futuristic city of Neom,
expected to cost around $500 billion alone.
Meanwhile, oil remains volatile, with prices falling for the
third week as an uncertain demand outlook continues to weigh and investors push
back expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.