Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO was the largest public offering ever at the time, raising about $25.6 billion.
Saudi Aramco sold shares on Tadawul, Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, in December 2019. The offering valued the company at about $1.7 trillion at its initial price, and strong early trading briefly pushed its market capitalization to approximately $2 trillion.
The IPO formed part of Saudi Vision 2030, an economic strategy intended to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil revenue and encourage investment in other sectors. The offering also gave domestic and international investors a way to buy shares in a company previously owned entirely by the Saudi state.
Alibaba had previously held the record for the largest IPO, raising about $25 billion in 2014. Saudi Aramco’s offering surpassed that figure at the time.