Empire’s Headchoppers Pulling out All the Stops to Inflate Aramco’s Stock
Up and to bullying its ultra-rich to invest their money in the coming IPO
Saudi Arabia is negotiating commitments from its wealthiest citizens to buy stock in the Aramco initial public offering, from the Olayan family and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal to low-profile tycoons in the oil producer’s backyard, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The billionaire Olayans, who own a major stake in Credit Suisse Group AG, are considering buying several hundred million U.S. dollars worth of Aramco shares, according to the people. Prince Alwaleed has also held talks to commit a significant amount to the IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Aramco representatives have been seeking an investment from the Almajdouie family, whose businesses range from distributing Hyundai Motor Co. vehicles in the kingdom to a large logistics operation, the people said. They have also approached members of the Al-Turki clan, who are involved in fields from real estate to general trading, food distribution and ports, the people said.
Saudi Arabia is turning to rich local families, some of whom had members detained [and tortured and shaken down for billions in ransom] in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel during a 2017 corruption crackdown, as it seeks to shore up demand for the record-breaking share sale. Some control sprawling groups of companies, and it wasn’t immediately clear which vehicles they would use to buy the stock or if certain individuals would invest their personal fortunes.
Eastern Province
There’s no certainty the wealthy investors will place orders, and precise commitments could vary based on the final valuation decided by Aramco, the people said. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has long insisted the state oil company is worth US$2 trillion, a figure that many Western fund managers have balked at, Bloomberg News has reported.
Aramco declined to comment. Representatives for Olayan Group and Alwaleed’s publicly listed investment company, Kingdom Holding Co., didn’t respond to requests for comment. Repeated calls to Nesma Holding Co., a conglomerate controlled by one branch of the Al-Turki family, and Almajdouie Group weren’t answered.
Almajdouie Group is based in the Eastern province capital of Dammam, a stone’s throw from Aramco headquarters in the desert city of Dhahran. Its transportation affiliates have hauled oil pipes and drilling rigs to Aramco work sites, according to their websites. The company’s bakery business has also been an Aramco supplier.
Source: Bloomberg
Good luck with raising any foreign money because the religious sects in the sand pit all hate foreigners. So, i guess the message is leave your money in the sand pit, but not your footprints.
The saudis have a nasty habit of trying to cure their foreign problems with sharp swords and knives. Much like a night in the suburbs of London in the company of fools.
Why would I want to put my money into a company that’s tried to inflate its worth by lying about it’s oil reserves? I suppose I could just wang a few grand in and then sell it a few hours later at its first peak. The market is good like that.
My guess is they are launching an IPO because Saudi Arabia is running out of oil and they want to palm Aramco onto others.
With oil being the only money making enterprise in SA – and the fact that there is even less of it than many suspected, BDS has got to do something to get himself – and his government funded! Good luck on that deal!