Oil giant Saudi Aramco announced the completion of its secondary share sale, which brought in $11.2 billion and attracted new foreign investors, AFP reported.
The offering boosted Saudi Arabia's finances amid costly economic reforms.
"This landmark transaction achieves the objectives of diversifying and expanding Aramco's shareholder base with strong participation from new international and local investors, which further supports the liquidity of our shares," CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement.
On May 30, Aramco, the crown jewel of the Saudi economy, announced it would sell 1.545 billion shares, or about 0.64 percent of its outstanding shares, to the Saudi stock exchange.
This decision was seen as a test of the interest of foreign investors during more than half of the kingdom's campaign known as "Vision 2030", whose ambitions are reflected in the so-called. gigaprojects such as NEOM, a planned futuristic metropolis in the desert.
About 58% of the shares are allocated to international investors, up from about 23% for the 2019 IPO.
Proceeds from the deal could eventually rise to $12.35 billion.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of crude oil, and the state's stake in Aramco is about 81.5 percent after the second share sale.
The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund and its subsidiaries control about 16% of the firm.
Aramco reported record profits in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring, allowing Saudi Arabia to record its first budget surplus in nearly a decade.
But the Saudi cash cow saw profits fall by a quarter last year due to lower oil prices and production cuts. | BGNES
