ASSESSMENTS

Drilling Deeper Into Saudi Aramco's Bid to Go Public

Oct 7, 2016 | 09:00 GMT

Saudi Aramco has long been criticized for its opaque practices, but the company is in the process of making its operations more transparent.
Saudi Aramco has long been criticized for its opaque practices, but the company is in the process of making its operations more transparent.

(FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

Saudi Arabia is taking steps to put its ambitious agenda for economic reform into practice. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) CEO Amin Nasser said the company's partial initial public offering (IPO) would list units across the organization — rather than just the downstream segments, as many had expected. The announcement hints that Riyadh may be making a serious effort to introduce greater transparency and efficiency into the state-owned energy giant's practices, as promised. More important, though, it indicates Riyadh's commitment to forging ahead with a massive overhaul of the Saudi economy, a plan that until now has seen more talk than action. 

Saudi Arabia is taking steps to put its ambitious agenda for economic reform into practice. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco) CEO Amin Nasser said the company's partial initial public offering (IPO) would list units across the organization -- rather than just the downstream segments, as many had expected. The announcement hints that Riyadh may be making a serious effort to introduce greater transparency and efficiency into the state-owned energy giant's practices, as promised. More important, though, it indicates Riyadh's commitment to forging ahead with a massive overhaul of the Saudi economy, a plan that until now has seen more talk than action. ...

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