Saudi Arabia finalises transfer of 4% Aramco stake to PIF

Saudi Arabia finalises transfer of 4% Aramco stake to PIF

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman has completed the transfer of 4 per cent of Aramco shares worth $80bn to Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the transfer of part of the kingdom’s shares in Aramco is a continuation of the country’s long-term initiatives to boost and diversify the economy and expand investment opportunities under Vision 2030. Following the transfer, the state remains the largest shareholder in Aramco after the transfer, as it retains more than 90 per cent of the company’s shares. Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to transfer Aramco’s stake to the state wealth fund in February 2022. Aramco said at the time that the transfer was a private transaction between the government and the state fund. “The company is not a party to the transfer and did not enter into any agreements or pay or receive any proceeds from that transfer,” Aramco said in a statement. The energy giant said the transaction would not affect the number of issued shares nor its operations, strategy, dividends distribution policy or governance framework. Aramco completed the world’s largest initial public offering in late 2019,