(UTV|COLOMBO) – Saudi Arabia has denied reports that it cancelled its plans to sell shares in state oil giant Aramco.
Reuters earlier reported that a group of financial advisers had abandoned a plan to sell 5% of the firm.
The news agency quoted a source suggesting the decision was taken some time ago but was not being announced.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister said the Government would proceed with the flotation – which has been billed as the largest ever.
“The Government remains committed to the IPO [Initial Public Offering] of Saudi Aramco at a time of its own choosing when conditions are optimum,” Khalid al-Falih said in a statement.
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, first proposed the share sale early in 2016 as part of his economic reform agenda, to bring Western regulation and scrutiny to the company, as well as raising cash to reduce the country’s large budget deficit.
At the time he predicted the sale would value Aramco at around $2 trillion (£1.55 tn). The plan would see shares float on both the local stock market in Riyadh and one of the world’s leading international financial centres.
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