...November 14, 2019 LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 14, 2019--S&P Global Ratings said today that Saudi Aramco's forthcoming IPO on the Saudi Stock Exchange (the Tadawul) could enable the sovereign to further strengthen its net asset position. And, if subsequently effectively deployed, the funds raised could be used to support longer-term economic growth in Saudi Arabia (unsolicited; A-/Stable/A-2). Saudi Arabia currently fully owns Saudi Aramco, which is the world's largest company by a significant margin. It plans to sell about 1%-3% of the company through an IPO. We understand that the bulk of the funds raised will go to the government or the Public Investment Fund, potentially adding to the sovereign's already strong fiscal net asset position of 72.7% of GDP. Productively deployed, we believe the assets could also help maintain growth potential through our three-year ratings horizon. Public investment in Saudi Arabia is forecast to remain quite high, even though the sovereign has implemented...
