Aramco hits $2 trillion as shares rise for fourth day in a row
Shares in Saudi Aramco continued to rise for a fourth day, with the firm’s value tipping $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) as shares hit 38 riyals (760p) today.
The firm’s opening price was 37.5 riyals, but soon rose 1.6 per cent to reach 38 riyals, making the oil giant worth $2.03 trillion.
Read more: Saudi Aramco shares rise by a tenth after record debut
This meets the benchmark originally set by de facto Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman, who had made no secrets of his desire for a $2 trillion valuation.
Demand could rise even more this week when Aramco is added to global equity bourses such as MSCI’s emerging markets index and the FTSE Russell.
The state-owned oil company listed 1.5 per cent of its shares at 32 riyals on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange on 11 December in the world’s largest initial public offering.
With a float of $25.6bn Aramco surpassed the previous $25bn record set by Chinese tech giant Alibaba in 2014.
In the lead up to the IPO many were sceptical about the firm’s worth due to a combination of political and environmental factors, but the company looks set to prove its doubters wrong.
Read more: Aramco IPO to be largest in history at $25.6bn
Aramco chose to rely on local interest ahead of international investors, cancelling its roadshows outside of the Gulf in favour of focusing on the kingdom and its neighbours.
The float is a key element of bin Salman’s plan to diversify the country’s economy away from oil by 2030.