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Friday 08 Jan 2016 - 13:49 Makkah mean time-28-3-1437
Riyadh, (IINA) - Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, indicated on Thursday that Saudi Aramco, the largest oil producer, could start selling company shares, BBC reported.
During his interview with the Economist, Prince Muhammad said that the move was being reviewed. "We believe a decision will be made over the next few months".
Aramco has crude reserves of about 265 billion barrels, more than 15% of global deposits, and with falling oil prices, a sale would raise revenues for Saudi Arabia.
The government has a deficit nearing $100 billion due to the collapse in oil prices over the past 18 months. The deputy crown prince told the Economist he favored listing Aramco shares on the stock market. "Personally, I'm enthusiastic about this step. I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco, and it is for the interest of more transparency, and to counter corruption, if any, that may be circling around Aramco".
He did not say how much of the company could be sold. Analysts have estimated that a full listing of Aramco would be worth more than $1 trillion.
The world's most valuable company currently is Apple, worth about $543 billion.
Aramco produces more than 10 million barrels of oil per day, three times as much as the world's largest listed oil company, ExxonMobil.
AG/IINA
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