The initial public offering of Saudi Aramco will happen in 2018 as planned despite rumours of setbacks, says the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He said the location for the listing was as yet undecided but that the company’s value may be even higher than the $2 trillion formerly estimated.
“Undoubtedly the biggest IPO in the world must be accompanied by a lot of rumours,” he said in an interview, before concluding that investors would have the final say as to the company’s worth.
The stock exchanges of New York and London are vying to host shares in the company, which is expected to be listed partly in Saudi Arabia and partly on an international bourse.
Elsewhere in the interview, the crown prince was dismissive about a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf that has seen Qatar shunned for its alleged support of terrorism, among other supposed misdeeds. “Qatar is a very, very, very small issue,” he said.
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