Saudi king: Aramco IPO will bring investments, jobs

Saudi Arabia's King Salman said Wednesday that oil giant Aramco's planned IPO will attract investment and create thousands of jobs, in his first comments on the blockbuster stock market listing.

Riyadh on Sunday put a value of up to $1.71 trillion on Aramco as it said it would sell 1.5 per cent of the company in an initial public offering worth $24-25.6 billion -- potentially the world's biggest.

The listing "will allow investors inside and outside the kingdom to contribute to this leading company, allowing for investments and creating thousands of jobs," the king said in his annual address to the consultative Shura Council, according to the foreign ministry.

"It will enhance the size of Saudi Arabia's financial market to the ranks of global markets, as well as enhance transparency and the governing system of the company, in line with international standards."

The much-delayed offering, a cornerstone of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious plan to diversify the oil-reliant economy, could exceed the world's biggest IPO -- the $25 billion float of Chinese retail giant Alibaba in 2014.

The firm has said there are no current plans for an international stock sale and the IPO seems to be banking on local demand, with one-third of the shares reserved for Saudi retail investors.

The launch has been dogged by delays since the idea was first announced in 2016, with Prince Mohammed's desired company valuation of $2 trillion meetings with scepticism from investors and analysts.