Aramco shares climb to hit daily 10% limit as IPO begins trading – bourse

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO), surged past expectations as it debuted on the country’s stock exchange on Wednesday morning.

Shares of the state-owned oil company rose to 35.2 riyals ($9.38) in early deals in Riyadh, after initially debuting at 32 Saudi riyals, giving it a valuation of $1.88 trillion.

Aramco’s public debut, which listed 1.5 percent of its shares locally on the Saudi Tadawul, is the largest on record, topping the $25 billion Alibaba raised when it went public in September 2014.

The oil giant’s initial public offering has surpassed its earlier valuation of $1.7 trillion, announced when share pricing was disclosed last week at the top of market range.

But the $1.88 trillion valuation remains below what the kingdom had initially been targeting and relying heavily on local investors after canceling international roadshows due to lackluster foreign interest.

Source: CNBC