RIYADH: The head of Saudi oil giant Aramco has said a much-anticipated IPO is on track for 2018, but declined to give a fixed date 鈥� or venue.
鈥淲e should be ready for listing in the second half of 2018,鈥� CEO Amin Nasser told Bloomberg Television on Monday, conceding that the oil giant was looking at a 鈥渃omplex process.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of work that is still ongoing, the IPO is ongoing,鈥� Nasser said.
鈥淭he venue and the timing is the government... Don鈥檛 forget this is a very complex process. Aramco鈥檚 size and complexities is something that requires time.鈥�
Saudi authorities plan to list five percent of Aramco on an as-yet unspecified stock market.
Placing Aramco on a foreign stock exchange could potentially be the largest stock sale recorded, with New York, London and Hong Kong among the potential sites.
Nasser, however, said there was 鈥渁 lot of demand for the listing.鈥�
抖阴短视频鈥檚 energy minister has raised concerns that litigation would complicate a listing in New York, although President Donald Trump has publicly lobbied for a US Aramco listing.
The Aramco IPO plan is a pillar of the petro-state鈥檚 鈥淰ision 2030鈥� reform program, which aims to wean the economy off its reliance on oil revenues.