Chinese State Banks Are Said to Compete for Role on Aramco IPO - Bloomberg

Chinese State Banks Are Said to Compete for Role on Aramco IPO - Bloomberg:

Some of China’s biggest state-owned banks have been invited to pitch for the Saudi Aramco initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said, signaling the oil giant’s potential desire to attract Asian investors to the $100 billion listing. 


Investment banking units of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. are among firms competing for a role on the offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Senior management of some Chinese banks visited Saudi Arabia multiple times this year before Aramco officially requested proposals, one of the the people said.

A number of Asia-based dealmakers have been cutting short their vacations to finish work on the pitches, according to the people. Aramco has asked most banks to submit proposals by next week, the people said. It invited more than 20 advisory firms from the U.S., Europe and Asia to compete for a role on the offering, including some of the world’s biggest underwriters as well as a number of smaller banks, one person said.