Al-Jadaan says Aramco’s IPO achieved its goals

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that Aramco’s IPO achieved key strategic goals, adding that the offering helped boost transparency and disclosure, as well as supporting the national economy by leveraging some assets.
 

The Minister told Argaam, during the government press conference, regarding the possibility of transferring more Aramco shares to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), that “there are currently no specific plans to transfer more shares to PIF, but any decisions in this regard will be announced in due course.”  
 

He said that the offering enabled the government to transfer about 16% of Aramco shares to PIF or to its affiliates, which strengthened its financial capacity, whether through the dividends it receives or by reinforcing its borrowing capacity.
 

According to the Minister, public finances have three direct main sources of oil revenues through Aramco: First, the royalties, as the government receives 15% of Aramco's sales; second, the taxes, as Aramco pays 50% of its net profit to the government quarterly; third, dividends, which depend on the government's ownership in the company.
 

Al-Jadaan added that royalties and taxes are not affected by the transfer of share ownership to PIF, while the impact is limited to the percentage of profits only, noting that the government still receives the largest percentage of Aramco's profit, which supports the sustainability of public revenues.
 

"The government still receives 83-84% of Aramco's total profit, which enhances the sustainability of public revenues,” the Minister stated.
 

Al-Jadaan also noted that spending in the budget is stable, backed by non-oil revenues.