# Canonical recap data for Saudi Aramco IPO Valuation Record (2019)
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slug: saudi-aramco-ipo
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2019/saudi-aramco-ipo"
title: Saudi Aramco IPO Valuation Record
aliases:
- Aramco IPO
- Saudi Aramco listing
- December 2019 IPO
subtitle: The world's largest oil company's $2 trillion IPO marked Saudi Vision 2030 ambitions and unprecedented market access.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2019-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 2019
decade: 2010
country:
name: Saudi Arabia
slug: saudi-arabia
summaryShort: Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, it is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. As of 2024, it is the fourth-largest company in the world by revenue and is headquartered in Dhahran. Saudi Aramco has both the world's largest proven crud
summaryLong: Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, it is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. As of 2024, it is the fourth-largest company in the world by revenue and is headquartered in Dhahran. Saudi Aramco has both the world's largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 270 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production of all oil-producing companies.
lede: Saudi Aramco went public on December 11, 2019, in what became the world's largest IPO by capital raised at the time. The Saudi Arabian state oil company's listing on the Saudi exchange valued it at $1.7 trillion, making it briefly the world's most valuable publicly traded company-a historic moment for both Saudi Arabia's economy and global energy markets.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Aramco_Tower.jpg/1280px-Aramco_Tower.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Saudi Aramco"
importance: 76
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: IPO date
  value: December 11, 2019
- label: Valuation
  value: $1.7 trillion
- label: Capital raised
  value: $29.4 billion
- label: Listing exchange
  value: Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)
- label: Shares offered
  value: 1.73 billion shares (3% of company)
- label: Price per share
  value: 32 Saudi riyals ($8.53)
- label: Global rank at listing
  value: World's most valuable publicly traded company
- label: Lead underwriters
  value: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC
timeline:
- date: 2016-01-01
  title: Saudi Vision 2030 announced
  description: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveils Vision 2030, a sweeping economic diversification plan that includes eventually listing Saudi Aramco publicly.
- date: 2018-04-01
  title: IPO first announced
  description: Saudi Aramco formally announces plans to conduct an initial public offering as part of Vision 2030 objectives.
- date: 2019-11-03
  title: IPO prospectus filed
  description: Saudi Aramco files its prospectus with the Saudi Stock Exchange, beginning the formal flotation process.
- date: 2019-12-02
  title: Book building period closes
  description: The company completes its book-building phase, receiving orders exceeding $100 billion from institutional investors globally.
- date: 2019-12-11
  title: Trading begins
  description: Saudi Aramco begins trading on the Tadawul exchange at 32 riyals per share, valuing the company at $1.7 trillion and becoming the world's largest IPO by capital raised.
- date: 2019-12-12
  title: First trading day closes
  description: Stock surges 10% on the first full day of trading, valuing the company at $1.87 trillion and cementing its position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Aramco"
  title: Saudi Aramco
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The IPO marked a watershed moment for Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy and signaled major institutional investors' appetite for energy assets despite mounting climate concerns. At $1.7 trillion, it reset expectations for mega-cap flotations and demonstrated the Saudi government's ability to execute a complex capital markets operation at unprecedented scale.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: economic
eventTypes:
- ipo
canonicalClasses:
- exchange
- transformation
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Saudi Aramco's record $1.7 trillion IPO in December 2019 became the world's largest by capital raised.
wikidataQid: Q679322
peoplesVoice:
- source: Mohammed Al-Muraiwik, Saudi Aramco Board Member
  voiceType: official
  context: Speaking to media immediately following the IPO announcement in early December 2019, celebrating Saudi Arabia's economic diversification milestone.
  excerpt: This IPO represents a historic moment for Saudi Arabia and demonstrates the strength of our economy. Saudi Aramco is the backbone of global energy supply.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 85
  attribution: Reuters and Bloomberg reports, December 2019
  publishedAt: 2019-12-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Azeez Siddiqui, Senior Analyst at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken
  voiceType: analyst
  context: In response to Aramco's valuation falling short of the initial $2 trillion target, settling around $1.7 trillion in mid-December pricing.
  excerpt: The pricing reflects real concerns about long-term oil demand and climate transition risks. A $1.7 trillion valuation is still remarkable, but reality checked the crown jewel.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Market analysis, December 10, 2019
  publishedAt: 2019-12-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Bloomberg Editorial Team
  voiceType: media
  context: Commenting on the first day of trading on December 11, 2019, when Aramco shares opened and became the world's most valuable company briefly.
  excerpt: Saudi Aramco's debut makes it the world's largest company by market cap - a symbolic crown that masks deeper questions about peak oil and stranded assets.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 80
  attribution: Bloomberg Markets, December 11, 2019
  publishedAt: 2019-12-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dan Yergin, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit
  voiceType: expert
  context: In industry analysis published around the IPO launch, assessing the geopolitical and energy market implications of Saudi Aramco's public listing.
  excerpt: This IPO is not just about Saudi Arabia's economic vision 2030 - it signals confidence in global oil demand durability despite transition headwinds.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Energy industry commentary, December 2019
  publishedAt: 2019-12-09
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Financial Times Editorial Board
  voiceType: media
  context: Publishing critical perspective on the valuation gap between Saudi ambitions and market reality during the pricing phase in early December.
  excerpt: The gap between Saudi Arabia's $2 trillion target and what markets will bear reveals uncomfortable truths about fossil fuel valuations in a carbon-constrained world.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 75
  attribution: Financial Times, December 6, 2019
  publishedAt: 2019-12-06
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20190720173302/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Aramco"
  capturedAt: 2019-07-20
  label: Saudi Aramco
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Aramco"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Aramco_Tower.jpg/1280px-Aramco_Tower.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Aramco_Tower.jpg/800px-Aramco_Tower.jpg"
  caption: Saudi Aramco
  credit: Wikipedia · "Saudi Aramco"
  width: 330
  height: 413
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: IPO Valuation
  thenValue: $1.7 trillion
  thenYear: 2019
  nowValue: $1.42 trillion
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Market capitalization as of December 2019 IPO versus recent trading values
- metric: Global Revenue Ranking
  thenValue: Not in top 3
  thenYear: 2019
  nowValue: 4th largest by revenue
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Post-IPO visibility and scale measurements
- metric: Daily Oil Production
  thenValue: 10 million barrels per day
  thenYear: 2019
  nowValue: 13.5 million barrels per day
  nowYear: 2023
  note: Production capacity expansion post-IPO
- metric: Public Shareholders
  thenValue: Minority stake listed
  thenYear: 2019
  nowValue: Approximately 1.7 billion shares outstanding
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Transition from private to public company ownership structure
consequences:
- title: Aramco Becomes Publicly Traded
  year: 2019
  description: Saudi Aramco listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on December 11, 2019, raising $25.6 billion and becoming the world's largest IPO by proceeds, overtaking Jack Ma's Alibaba in 2014
- title: Vision 2030 Acceleration
  year: 2020
  description: The IPO proceeds bolstered Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 diversification strategy, enabling investment in petrochemicals, renewable energy, and downstream operations beyond crude oil exports
- title: Global Energy Investor Exposure
  year: 2021
  description: Aramco's public listing opened the company to international institutional investors, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, fundamentally shifting capital flows in global energy markets
- title: Supply Chain Resilience Testing
  year: 2022
  description: Following the September 2022 drone attacks on Abqaiq and Safaniyah facilities, Aramco's publicly disclosed production cuts and recovery timelines directly influenced global oil prices and investor confidence in Saudi energy security
- title: Dividend Commitments to Shareholders
  year: 2023
  description: Aramco committed to minimum annual dividends of $75 billion through 2024, signaling long-term oil demand expectations and prioritizing shareholder returns alongside capital expenditure
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Old Town Road
  artist: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
  year: 2019
- title: Bad Guy
  artist: Billie Eilish
  year: 2019
- title: Shallow
  artist: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
  year: 2018
topFilms:
- title: "Avengers: Endgame"
  year: 2019
- title: Joker
  year: 2019
- title: "1917"
  year: 2019
topTVShows:
- title: Game of Thrones
  note: Final season aired in 2019
- title: Chernobyl
  year: 2019
- title: The Mandalorian
  year: 2019
zeitgeistNote: 2019 marked peak streaming wars (Disney+ launched November 2019), climate change dominance in global discourse, and the final season of Game of Thrones cultural phenomenon, set against backdrop of Saudi Arabia's first major opening to foreign capital markets
relatedQueries:
- Saudi Aramco IPO 2019 valuation
- largest IPO in history
- Saudi Arabia Vision 2030
- Aramco stock price 2024
- Saudi oil company public listing
- Aramco dividend payments shareholders
- Saudi energy sector reform
- global oil market 2019
