Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The true realization of Crown Prince's Muhammad Bin Salman's vision has been reached Thursday — as Saudi Aramco topped the $2 trillion evaluation — reflecting upon one of the many achievements we shall be reaching in present and near future. Following the successful IPO of Saudi Aramco, as projected by the Crown Prince, new-industries will emerge — others will be strengthened and supported — therefore creating new opportunities for the youth and contribute to lowering of the unemployment rates. A record-breaking debut for Saudi Aramco, as foreseen by the Crown Prince, will be the pillar of support to many other Saudi industrial sectors. The Crown Prince's objective has not only been achieved, but even surpassed, as the oil giant Saudi Aramco exceeded the expected target of hitting the $2 trillion Valuation. Saudi Aramco's record-breaking IPO is a major step of the Crown Prince's Vision to diversify the Saudi economy and becoming a non-oil dependent nation. Saudi Aramco's market value on Thursday briefly hit the $2 trillion valuation target sought by the Crown Prince as the energy giant's share price surged again on its second day of trading. The valuation milestone was coveted by Crown Prince ever since he first floated the idea of listing the world's biggest oil firm four years ago. Aramco's market value crossed the $2 trillion level several times during the day before ending just below it, at $1.96 trillion, on the Kingdom's Tadawul stock exchange. Aramco shares closed up 4.55 percent at SR36.80 ($9.81), off their highs of the day, after soaring by the maximum allowed 10 percent on Wednesday. The listing of Aramco, with its huge capital value, boosts the Saudi bourse to the ranks of the world's top 10. Tadawul witnessed one of its most hectic trading sessions on Thursday, with some 418 million Aramco shares — worth $4.23 billion — changing hands. Aramco's stock sale is the cornerstone of Prince Muhammad's ambitious strategy to overhaul the oil-reliant economy by raising funds to pour into megaprojects and non-energy industries such as tourism and entertainment. The $25.6 billion proceeds from the Aramco IPO are expected to be channeled into the coffers of the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which will invest it in mega projects. Aramco opened its accounts this year and announced that it posted $111 billion in net profit in 2018, making it the most profitable company in the world. The energy giant's valuation was declared to be $1.7 trillion during the IPO process, putting it far ahead of other firms in the trillion-dollar club, including Apple and Microsoft. Aramco's share surge lifted Tadawul's capitalization to over $2.46 trillion, making it the seventh largest market ahead of the bourses in Canada, Germany and India. — With input from agencies
