Saudi Arabia considers selling Aramco share
Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that it is considering to sell shares in the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has told The Economist that a decision to the same effect will be made within the next few months.
"Personally I'm enthusiastic about this step. I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco, and it is for the interest of more transparency, and to counter corruption, if any, that may be circling around Aramco," said the prince.
Saudi Aramco is the world's largest oil company in terms of crude production and exports.
The decision to sell the company comes as Saudi Arabia, the largest crude exporter, last week reported a deficit of $98 billion (€90 billion) for 2015.
It projected a shortfall of $87 billion in this year's budget, with crude prices currently around $32 a barrel, down from more than $100 early in 2014.
Saudi Arabia has been widely blamed for the plummeting oil prices as Riyadh has adamantly refused to cut its crude output in a bid to drive other oil market players, including US shale producers, out of the market.
In addition, Riyadh has been under tremendous financial pressure due to its expensive military intervention in its southern neighbor, Yemen, which started in late March in a bid to undermine Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and bring fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, back to power.
A report in late December showed that Saudi Arabia’s economic growth is expected to further slow down in 2016. Jadwa Investment’s forecast report said the Saudi economy will grow by only 1.9 percent next year, down from this year’s figure of 3.3 percent and 3.5 percent in 2014.
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