Saudi Arabia has started talks with a foreign firm to sell it 1% of Saudi oil giant Aramco, Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman said in a television interview on Tuesday (April 27th). “This will be very beneficial for Aramco’s sales in this country”, said MBS, without elaborating.
Aramco had already sold, in December 2019, part of its capital, and had obtained 29.4 billion dollars (24.3 billion euros). Earlier this month, Aramco sold a minority stake in a pipeline company to US firm EIG Global Energy Partners for $ 12.4 billion.
44.4% drop in firm profits
These disposals illustrate Riyadh’s desire to raise funds in order to finance its efforts to diversify its economy. Last month, the firm announced a 44.4% drop in profits in 2020, posing a serious problem for the Saudi state, its largest shareholder.
Aramco’s debt rose as Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, was affected by both falling barrel prices and declining global consumption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
