Saudi Arabia's largest state-owned oil company Aramco will delay its international initial public offering (IPO), opting to list its shares only on the domestic market in the second half of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the situation. The company subsequently stated that no international listing is being planned at this moment, but left open the possibility of publicly offering its shares abroad at some point next year.
"The Company continues to review options for the listing," the company stated following the reports."In addition to listing on Tadawul, the home exchange, a range of international options are still being held under active review. The Company will not provide a running commentary on the course of the IPO."
Also, the WSJ reported that Aramco's domestic listing will be much smaller than it was expected in the international market, where it was anticipated as the largest IPO ever.
