Saudi Arabia's crown prince transfers another 8% of Aramco shares to sovereign wealth fund
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom’s oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country’s prominent sovereign wealth fund
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia's crown prince transferred another 8% of shares in the kingdom's oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country's prominent sovereign wealth fund on Thursday. The shares are worth some $160 billion.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's decision comes as the kingdom is trying to build a series of megaprojects and invest in sports and other fields aggressively abroad to wean the country off of relying solely on oil.
The country's sovereign wealth fund known as the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, has been a key element of Mohammed's plans, known as Saudi Vision 2030.
“The transfer of part of the state’s shares in Saudi Aramco is a continuation of Saudi Arabia’s long-term initiatives to boost and diversify the national economy and expand investment opportunities in line with Saudi Vision 2030,” a statement announcing the deal said. “The transfer will also solidify PIF’s strong financial position and credit rating.”
The statement said the kingdom's ownership in Aramco would now be 82.186% of the company.
Saudi Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., acknowledged the transfer in a corporate disclosure.
“This is a private transfer and the company is not a party to the transfer and did not enter into any agreements or pay or receive any proceeds from the transfer,” it said.
Aramco has a market value of $2 trillion, making it the world’s fourth most-valuable firm, behind just Apple, Microsoft and NVIDIA respectively.
Aramco stock traded slightly up on Riyadh's Tadawul stock exchange to $8.45 a share Thursday. Benchmark Brent
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