Riyadh – Mubasher: Chinese officials offered a dual listing for Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco) shares on both the Hong Kong and Saudi exchanges with the aim of attracting Chinese investors for the IPO, Bloomberg said.
The proposal was made earlier this year and no decisions have been made, the people said, asking not to be named as the details aren’t public.
The giant government-owned oil producer said in January it’s considering an initial public offering of the entire business or some of its units, which could make it one of the world’s biggest public companies.
Aramco is a strategically important asset for China. Saudi Arabia was the source of 16 percent of China’s foreign oil, its largest supplier in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the capital Riyadh last month on his first trip through the Middle East since taking power.
