Saudi Aramco was the first company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization using a stock exchange listing in the Middle East.
Saudi Aramco’s shares began trading on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019, and the company quickly became one of the world’s most valuable listed businesses. Its valuation was supported by enormous hydrocarbon reserves, large-scale oil production, refining capacity, and a major role in Saudi Arabia’s economy.
The company’s public listing was unusual because most of its shares remained owned by the Saudi government. The IPO offered only a portion of the company, while giving public investors a market price for the listed shares and an implied valuation for the whole business.
Saudi Aramco is sometimes confused with PetroChina’s earlier market-cap record. PetroChina briefly exceeded $1 trillion in 2007 after its Shanghai listing, but Saudi Aramco’s achievement was the major Middle Eastern listing milestone. Market capitalization can differ from a company’s assessed resource value or replacement cost.