Saudi Aramco was the first Middle Eastern company to join the world’s trillion-dollar market-cap club.
Saudi Aramco surpassed a $1 trillion valuation when its shares began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange in December 2019. The company’s IPO had been closely watched because it was intended to broaden ownership of part of the state oil giant and support Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification plans.
The company’s official name is Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It controls enormous oil reserves and operates across the energy supply chain, including upstream production, refining, chemicals, and distribution. Its size and profitability made it one of the most valuable listed corporations immediately after its public offering.
The milestone is sometimes mixed up with the $2 trillion valuation target discussed before the IPO. Saudi Aramco’s initial market value was about $1.7 trillion, not $2 trillion. It later became one of the few companies whose valuation could rival the largest American technology corporations.