Sizing up the Aramco IPO

Want to be part of something big? Well, they don’t come any bigger than the Aramco IPO.

The giant Saudi Arabian oil company is listing on its local stock exchange on December 4 and is set to raise more money than any other to have gone before – in fact it will be almost double the current record, set in China by Alibaba.

With a market capitalisation of anywhere between $1.5tn and $2trn – depending on your thoughts on where the oil price will be in 10 years’ time, taking climate change and the associated taxes into account – Aramco is seeking to raise up to $45bn from new investors wanting a slice of the action.

For the mathematicians amongst you, that means its new shareholders will own a combined 1% to 3% of the entire company.

It might not seem much percentage-wise, but it’s still a massive undertaking – and it might be that it takes more of the company public at a later date. We’ll have to wait and see.

ADD ARAMCO TO YOUR WATCHLIST
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Already it has taken quite some time to get to this stage. With such a large prize on offer, stock exchanges from around the world had been wooing its Saudi owners for a few years.

In the mix were London and New York, with some Asian exchanges also throwing their hats in the ring. But ultimately, the oil giant decided to stay close to home.

Other international financial institutions have been lining up to play a part, too, with some 25 banks working on the listing. That’s almost another record broken, with only one company (again Chinese) bringing on 26 banks to help it list in 2016, according to Thomson Reuters.

So, what does this mean for you? You can be part of it, too. The company lists on December 4 but will be available to add to your eToro watchlist from December 2 (Monday).

Typically, shares from initial public offerings are not made available to small investors and singular traders, but you can access the Aramco stock through a CFD on our platform and start trading straight away.

Markets have never seen such a large single company listing, so there is no way of telling what will happen – but whatever the outcome, it will be history in the making.

ADD ARAMCO TO YOUR WATCHLIST
Your capital is at risk.

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