#Saudi Aramco tops Crown Prince's $2 trillion goal as shares surge - Reuters

Saudi Aramco tops Crown Prince's $2 trillion goal as shares surge - Reuters:

Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) topped the $2 trillion target sought by Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday as its shares clocked up a second day of gains, defying some scepticism about the state-owned oil firm’s long-term value.

The Saudi Crown Prince has made Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) the centerpiece of his vision of diversifying the Kingdom’s economy away from its dependence on oil by using the $25.6 billion raised to develop other sectors.

But that is well below his plan in 2016 to raise as much as $100 billion via a blockbuster international and domestic IPO.

Riyadh scaled back its plans after overseas investors baulked at the proposed valuation and only 1.5% of Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) shares were listed on the Riyadh stock exchange on Wednesday, a tiny free float for such a large company.