Saudi Aramco’s board said to meet in China next month

Saudi Aramco's board of directors will meet in China on May 10 to discuss business plans, investments and preparations ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) in 2018, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter.

This would be the board’s first meeting in Shanghai since 2010, as Aramco seeks to lure Chinese and Asian investors to its giant share offering.

Saudi Aramco's IPO and a potential role for Chinese investors were discussed last month during King Salman’s visit to Beijing, sources said.

The company plans to sell up to 5 percent of its shares, which is expected to generate about $100 billion and give Aramco an overall valuation of $2 trillion, the biggest ever.

Chinese companies are interested in investing in the Aramco IPO as Beijing seeks to secure crude supplies from the world’s biggest oil exporter, Reuters reported citing Saudi officials.

The IPO is to be listed on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh and on one or more international markets. The kingdom is considering exchanges in New York, London, Toronto and Asia.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China International Holdings, a unit of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China International Capital Corporation (CICC) are among Chinese banks pitching for a role in the IPO, sources said.

Chinese participation in the IPO could strengthen Riyadh's hand in other Chinese investment decisions, as Aramco has been in talks for years to invest in refineries in China so it can sell more of its crude to China, sources said.

Saudi Aramco’s board meeting in China will come before the OPEC meeting in Vienna on May 25 to decide on output policy, as the OPEC-led pact to cut supplies ends in June.

The nine-member board includes Saudi energy minister and Aramco chairman Khalid Al Falih, minister of State Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Public Investment Fund managing director Yasir Al-Rumayyan and royal court adviser Majid Al-Moneef. It also includes former Royal Dutch Shell chairman Mark Moody-Stuart and former Schlumberger head Andrew Gould.