Saudi Aramco said to have picked banks to advise on IPO

State-owned Saudi Aramco has appointed JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and HSBC as international financial advisers for its planned initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.

New York-based investment banks Moelis & Co and Evercore Partners Inc. had been earlier appointed by the major oil producer as independent to advise on the share sale.

Saudi Aramco also picked Saudi Arabia's NCB Capital and Samba Capital as local advisers.

The kingdom is planning to sell up to 5 percent of Aramco’s shares, and the IPO is expected at around $100 billion, the world’s largest ever. The listing is expected in the second half of 2018, Argaam earlier reported.

Saudi officials said the current valuation of Aramco, which is the world’s largest oil company, is around $2 trillion.