Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi revealed the individuals who were prevented from subscribing to Aramco by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s order, during his speech regarding the behind-the-scenes of the company’s IPO, which took 3 years to propose. Al-Qasabi stated that the Crown Prince directed the members of the Public Investment Fund’s Board of Directors and the participants in the general principle meeting to study the offering’s idea and use international offices, but they were not allowed to subscribe to Aramco. Aramco President and CEO Eng. Amin Al-Nasser commented that investors did not ask regarding the terrorist attack because of their confidence in the company’s ability to deal with such events. The Crown Prince surprised everyone with the idea of offering part of Aramco in global markets, following owning the entire company for 40 years, which led to a divergence of views among team members. Eventually, the offering was for the Saudi market only, allowing domestic investors to participate. Aramco’s factories were attacked by terrorists in September 2019 but were able to handle the damage in three weeks.
Al-Qasabi said during his meeting on the “Story of Promise” program on “MBC1” channel: that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed that the members of the Board of Directors of the Public Investment Fund and the participants in the meeting of the general principle and study the idea of the offering and the use of international offices to develop broad lines in terms of how to evaluate and what Included in that portfolio, they are prevented from subscribing to Aramco.
Aramco President and Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Amin Al-Nasser, stated that he and his team were ready to answer all questions asked to them regarding the Aramco offering, the company’s reliability and its ability to face these strikes, but he was surprised that the investors did not ask regarding the terrorist attack because of their confidence in the company’s ability to deal. With these events and the rapid return of production within a few weeks.
He added that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had surprised him with a question regarding offering part of Aramco in one of the global markets, because the idea of subscription had not been raised for 40 years from the time of owning the entire company, so he stood silent, but Dr. Muhammad Al Sheikh responded to the crown prince with a study. The idea was evaluated and presented to the board of the company, and then the subtraction machine started.
Al-Nasser noted that the idea of offering in general took 3 years to be implemented, during which all aspects related to the offering were discussed in various markets, including the New York, London, Tadawul and Hong Kong markets, in addition to the advantages and obstacles that may face the offering process, and that the idea of offering at the beginning was for all global markets. .
And the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, Yasser Al-Rumayyan, indicated that the Crown Prince spoke during one of the meetings regarding the idea of offering Aramco, which is the first supporter of the national economy, and asked regarding the difference between them and “SABIC”, in which the state sold 25% of its shares locally and internationally and achieved promising results following the offering.
The Minister of Investment, Engineer Khaled Al-Falih, said that the Crown Prince was aware of the risks that might result from the offering, including the government’s loss of the ability to manage the company, as well as concern regarding offering it in global markets, indicating that there was a divergence of views among the team members regarding the offering outside the Kingdom. Or within it? Finally, the offering program began to gradually move away from the global market.
In turn, the Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, stated that all the officials present at the meeting welcomed the adoption of the offering decision by the Crown Prince, as the decision was in the public interest, and the total offering was in the Saudi market, while allowing the funds and some investors operating at home to participate in the bid. subtraction operation.
It is indicated that Aramco’s factories in Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by terrorists With 25 missiles and “marsets” in September 2019, the company was able to deal with the damage resulting from the attack within 3 weeks.
In conclusion, the revelation made by Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi sheds light on some of the behind-the-scenes actions that led to the highly anticipated IPO of Aramco. It is clear that the decision to offer part of the company for public trading was carefully considered and weighed, and that key players such as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Aramco President and CEO Amin Al-Nasser, and others were heavily involved in the process. Furthermore, the successful handling of the terrorist attacks on two of Aramco’s factories in 2019 demonstrates the strength and resilience of the company. With this new information, it will be interesting to see how Aramco fares in the coming years and what other surprises may be in store for the world’s largest oil producer.
