DUBAI: Aramco has struggled to attract a major cornerstone or anchor investor for its IPO, which could be potentially the world’s biggest.
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An executive at a London-based fund, who attended the roadshow in Dubai, told Reuters he was interested in the IPO, but declined to provide more details.
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Some investors asked Aramco about the sustainability of its dividend policy. Aramco has set a base dividend of $75 billion for five years.
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A second executive at an investment firm said Aramco did not say whether that base level might grow.
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The meeting was led by Aramco’s senior vice president of finance, strategy and development, Khaled al-Dabbagh, and Yasser Mufti, the company’s vice president of strategy and market analysis, sources said.
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“The only thing left for comfort is the Saudi government, it’s fiscal policy and ability to sustain the dividends,” said a fund manager. “If you’re OK with that, you’ll invest.” Over 20 people, wearing suits, walked into the presentation area at a luxury hotel in Dubai’s financial district, but hotel security restricted entry for reporters.
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Another roadshow is planned in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
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“Looks like there’s a lot of interest both from retail investors and institutions.” K.V. Vijay Raghavan, group finance director at Dubai-based investment firm Arenco told Reuters after attending the roadshow.
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“I wish it was more like $1.4 trillion to $1.5 trillion, but this is what it is,” he said, referring to the company’s aim to achieve a valuation of $1.6-$1.7 trillion.
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However, he also said that looking at the investor interest, the IPO could hit the top end of the valuation range.
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Aramco plans to sell 1.5% of the company. The deal is the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s plans to diversify the Saudi economy away from its reliance on oil.
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Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor told Reuters on Sunday in Riyadh that it was monitoring banking indicators on a daily basis and was not seeing any impact on liquidity from the IPO.
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