London's FCA said to delay LSE rules overhaul for Aramco IPO

The City of London’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has delayed its plans to change stock market rules that would to enable Saudi Aramco to float its $2 trillion initial public offering (IPO) in London, according to reports in the British media.

The FCA, which regulates the financial services industry in the UK, started last year the process to develop a new listing structure to create a separate category of premium listings for companies controlled by sovereign states. The move would facilitate the listing of Saudi Aramco shares in London.

While it was expected that the FCA would publish the new rules by the end of 2017, UK-based The Times newspaper reported that it is understood that the watchdog is still considering responses to the consultation, with a decision unlikely for several weeks.

According to the Times, “all options remain on the table,” that means that plans could be implemented, held for further revision, or scrapped.

The FCA’s plan to change rules had been criticized by a number of investors, with fund manager Royal London calling it “highly inappropriate.”

“We will be lobbying strongly against any concessions being granted should there be a formal attempt to IPO Aramco in the UK … we fear this precedent could lead to a slippery slope,” Ashley Hamilton Claxton, corporate governance manager, said in June last year.