Saudi Aramco held the world's largest initial public offering in 2019, raising about $25.6 billion when shares began trading on the Saudi Exchange. The offering valued the oil producer at roughly $1.7 trillion.
Saudi Aramco is formally Saudi Arabian Oil Company and is majority owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. Its roots reach back to a 1933 concession granted to Standard Oil of California, with commercial oil production beginning in the 1930s.
The IPO initially sold shares only on the Saudi market, unlike many giant multinational listings. Aramco's enormous reserves and production capacity have repeatedly placed it among the world's most valuable listed companies by market capitalization.