Aramco Listing: Is New York Stock Exchange still in the running?

World
Europe

03:50

The exact where, when and how much of the largest stock listing in history remains a mystery.

We know Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince wants the national oil company, Saudi Aramco, valued at two trillion US dollars. That means the five percent it apparently intends to offer on an international exchange would be worth 100 billion US dollars: funds for his ambitious reform program back home.

We know the current plan is to list on the Saudi stock exchange first, possibly later this year. And that any hope of an international follow-up in 2018 is looking less and less likely. The Financial Times reports it could be early 2019 at best.

03:17

Then there’s the where. That’s where it gets pretty interesting.

Hong Kong, London and New York are believed to be the frontrunners. But is the United States still in the running?

There’s a class action lawsuit going on in the US at the moment. The families of 9/11 victims are suing the Saudi government, accusing them of carrying out the terrorist attack that killed more than 3,000 people and shook the world’s single superpower to its core.

If those families win the case, the US government may have the right to seize Saudi assets on its soil for compensation.

There are many reasons the New York Stock Exchange might be the natural choice for the Saudi Aramco listing. There is one, rather large, obstacle.