Saudi Aramco became the first Middle Eastern business to reach a $2 trillion market capitalization.
Saudi Aramco briefly reached the $2 trillion valuation on the Saudi stock exchange in December 2019, soon after its initial public offering. The listing made it one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world and drew attention to the scale of Saudi Arabia’s petroleum industry.
Saudi Aramco is the short name for Saudi Arabian Oil Company. Its roots trace back to the concession granted to Standard Oil of California in 1933. The Saudi government gradually increased its ownership before taking full control of the company in the 1980s.
The valuation was contested by some investors because market capitalization depends on the share price and the number of shares offered publicly. The IPO floated only a portion of the company, while the Saudi state retained the overwhelming majority. That makes the company’s public valuation different from a conventional sale of all its assets.