Saudi Aramco is said to be contemplating spinning off its trading division in a listing that could be valued at over US$30bn.
The Saudi state-owned oil giant reclaimed its top spot from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) last week as the world’s most valuable company at approximately US$2.4trn (read more).
Global surging oil prices, which led to soaring profits, played the largest role in helping Aramco leapfrog the iPhone maker.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) were contacted regarding the potential listing of Aramco Trading, Bloomberg reported, with up to 30% of the arm looking to be sold.
Saudi Aramco, which produces all the country’s vast oil reserves, listed 1.5% of its shares in Riyadh three years ago in the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO), raising US$25.6bn.
Proceeds were injected into the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been utilising to convert the nation’s reliance away from the fossil fuel, The Times reported.