Aramco to Be Worth More Than $2 Trillion Soon, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco will probably soon exceed the $2 trillion valuation targeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his half-brother and Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.

Prince Abdulaziz said the successful initial public offering was the proudest day of his career so far and the float had proved many critics of deal wrong.

“I will not call them by names, but I think they will like not to have written the things they have written,” he said in a press conference after an OPEC meeting in Vienna. “Aramco will be higher than the $2 trillion and they can bet that this will happen.”

Aramco declined to comment.

The state-owned oil giant set the final price of its shares at 32 riyals ($8.53), valuing the world’s most profitable company at $1.7 trillion. It received total bids of $119 billion.

The Crown Prince has long insisted on a $2 trillion valuation, but international investors balked, saying that mis-priced Aramco versus other large oil companies.

Saudi Arabia decided to proceed with an offering to local and regional investors, described by Prince Abdulaziz today as “family and friends.”

Saudi Arabia is trying to support oil prices before trading starts next week. The prince said Friday that the kingdom is cutting production more than required by its OPEC quota.

To contact the reporters on this story: Will Kennedy in Vienna at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net;Javier Blas in Vienna at jblas3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net, Helen Robertson, Christopher Sell

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