Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated that a 4 percent stake in energy giant Saudi Aramco has been transferred from state ownership to Sanabil Investments, the investment arm of the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
The crown prince revealed that the state remains Aramco’s biggest shareholder, owning 90.18 percent stakes in the firm.
Saudi Arabia-based Sanabil is an investment company that commits approximately $3 billion a year to private transactions
The move follows a similar transfer last year worth tens of billions of dollars, with the wealth fund now controlling a total of 8 percent of shares in Aramco, as per the reports.
The latest transfer will not affect Aramco’s total number of issued shares, and the shares transferred will rank equally alongside other existing ordinary shares, the company said in the bourse statement.
The crown prince indicated that this transfer of stakes is a part of Saudi Arabia’s long-term initiatives to boost and diversify the national economy and expand investment opportunities in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
The crown prince further added that the transfer will help maximize the assets of the Public Investment Fund and could enhance the PIF’s strong financial position and credit rating.
“The PIF will continue to launch new sectors, along with building strategic economic partnerships, localize technologies and knowledge, which will ultimately result in the creation of more direct and indirect jobs in the local labor market,” the crown prince added.
