Saudi banks extend operating hours for Aramco IPO

A number of Saudi banks announced extending their operating hours for the initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco.

The world's largest oil exporter will begin its IPO offering on Nov. 17 with the book-building process for institutional investors running until Dec. 4, while the retail offering period will close on Nov. 28, according to data compiled by Argaam.

Aramco plans to allocate a maximum of 0.5% or 1 billion shares of total offered shares to retail investors.

The IPO is expected to be the largest in the history of both Saudi and the global markets. The offering is predicted to witness wide participation because of the company's reputation and value and the investors’ desire to own shares in the world's largest oil company.

Any non-Saudi natural person residing within the Kingdom and any GCC national will be able to participate in the IPO for the first time in Saudi Arabia except for REIT Funds.

For more details about Saudi Aramco IPO