#Saudi officials ‘unhappy’ with foreign demand for Aramco IPO | Financial Times

Saudi officials ‘unhappy’ with foreign demand for Aramco IPO | Financial Times:

Saudi Arabian officials have told bankers they are unhappy with the level of foreign demand for Saudi Aramco, adding to pressure ahead of an investor roadshow due to start on Sunday.

Advisers informed officials this week about a gulf in demand between domestic investors and foreign institutions in the run-up to the much-delayed initial public offering, said two people familiar with the process.

“The issuer expressed high levels of dissatisfaction with what they were hearing,” said one of these people.

Financiers are increasingly confident of bumper domestic demand at a valuation of $1.8tn or higher, banking on a retail allocation above the 0.5 per cent earmarked in the prospectus. Local investors, some of whom have been pressured to invest, have been encouraged to bid at these higher levels.