Initial IPO could be limited

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is not ruling out the option of limiting the initial sale of Aramco shares only on the Riyadh stock exchange, a spokesman for the state-owned oil giant said Saturday.

"A range of options, for the public listing of Saudi Aramco, continues to be held under active review," the spokesman told AFP, questioned on reports that sales on international markets would follow at a later stage.

"No decision has been made and the IPO process remains on track," he said. The sale next year of just under five percent of Aramco forms the cornerstone of the oil-rich kingdom´s reform programme to wean the economy off its reliance on oil prices.

Until 2014, oil income made up more than 90 percent of public revenues. The kingdom has since concentrated on diversification, including plans to introduce value-added tax as well as the Aramco IPO. Oil prices have partly recovered after major producers inside and outside OPEC, including Saudi Arabia, agreed last year to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day.