Saudia Arabia’s National Bank Set to Plan IPO Next Quarter

National Commercial Bank (NCB), the largest lender in Saudi Arabia in terms of assets, is looking to sell a 15 percent stake in an initial public offering (IPO) during the coming fourth quarter.

The bank submitted its plans for the IPO to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) last week, according to a report on Bloomberg. The CMA may speed up the process so the bank can put up its shares in the market before the end of the year.

According to Riyadh Capital, the IPO could raise about SAR 16 billion ($4.3 billion), and would be the world’s largest sale this year. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.— the Chinese e-commerce giant— is expected to raise about $20 million from its IPO later this month, a deal that could also be the largest in U.S. history.

In April, NCB appointed HSBC Holdings and Gulf International Bank (GIB) as financial advisors for the process. 

The CMA declined to comment on the matter, and NCB did not respond to Bloomberg’s phone or email requests for comment.