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Seven Saudi firms were featured in Forbes Global 2000- the 16th annual list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies from 60 countries.
The seven firms include three Saudi banks: Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, and Saudi Investment Bank. The other four firms belong to several industries: Saudi Basic Industries, Saudi Electricity, Saudi Telecom, and Saudi Arabian Mining.
The list screens for the biggest companies in the world using four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value, using market value calculation as of May 11, 2018.
The United States dominated in terms of the amount of companies in the list, with 560 firms holding almost 30 percent of the total list. The top 10 firms of the list were split between China and the U.S. , with China holding 291 firms from the overall list.
The kingdom is expected to see several new firms going public in the near term. Saudi energy giant Aramco is set to undergo an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019, the kingdom’s energy minister stated recently, in what is expected to be the world’s biggest IPO, which could raise a record $100 billion by selling a 5 percent stake in the firm.
Read more here:Saudi minister Al-Falih says Aramco IPO likely in 2019
This month, Saudi Aramco restructured its non-oil assets to make it easier to value ahead of the mega IPO. The company created a subsidiary to house its multibillion-dollar pension fund, sources told Reuters. Read more here
Last month, banking sources told Reuters that a potential listing of 30 percent of the Saudi business of the The Olayan family’s conglomerate, could lead to a sale valued at $2 billion to $3 billion in IPO.
Earlier this year, Saudi firm ACWA Power, a developer of water and electricity projects in the Middle East, invited banks to bid to arrange its IPO, which is expected to raise up to $1 billion. Read more here
Further Reading:
- JPMorgan sees more Saudi firms looking at overseas listings after Aramco
- HSBC Saudi unit to manage Ataa Educational's IPO on Tadawul
- INTERVIEW: Company laws hinder growth of smaller firms in Saudi and UAE, says leading VC
- Saudi Aramco hype lifts Mena IPO activity
(Reporting by Nada Al Rifai; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
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© ZAWYA 2018
