<p class="title">The retail portion of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed, with orders reaching 38.1 billion Saudi riyals ($10.2 billion), lead manager Samba Capital said on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The state oil giant plans to sell a 1.5% stake or about 3 billion shares and has said at least one-third of the sale is expected to be covered by retail investors, who have until Thursday to sign up.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With an indicative price of 30-32 riyals, the IPO is valued at as much as 96 billion riyals ($25.6 billion) and gives the firm a market value of $1.6-$1.7 trillion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It will be the world's biggest IPO if it tops the $25 billion set by China's Alibaba in 2014.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around 4.17 million retail investors had subscribed to 1.19 billion shares by 12 p.m. on Thursday, injecting 6.13 billion riyals above the amount needed for full coverage, Samba said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Subscription will continue until midnight on Thursday and final results will be announced on Friday, it said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The IPO is the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to diversify the Saudi economy away from its reliance on oil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Aramco is the crown jewel of the economy and the world's most profitable company.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is relying on local and regional demand to pull off the deal, after cancelling marketing roadshows outside the Gulf region due to a lack of interest from foreign institutional investors.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources told Reuters this week that the sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Kuwait plan to invest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saudis have been eager to buy shares, with many seeking to invest on behalf of their dependents to increase the number of shares they can buy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has encouraged rich Saudis to invest, with many viewing it as an opportunity to show their patriotism after a September attack on Aramco facilities that struck at the heart of the kingdom's energy industry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Washington and Riyadh blamed regional rival Iran for the attacks, which temporarily cut more than 5% of global oil supply. Tehran denied any involvement.</p>
<p class="title">The retail portion of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed, with orders reaching 38.1 billion Saudi riyals ($10.2 billion), lead manager Samba Capital said on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The state oil giant plans to sell a 1.5% stake or about 3 billion shares and has said at least one-third of the sale is expected to be covered by retail investors, who have until Thursday to sign up.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With an indicative price of 30-32 riyals, the IPO is valued at as much as 96 billion riyals ($25.6 billion) and gives the firm a market value of $1.6-$1.7 trillion.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It will be the world's biggest IPO if it tops the $25 billion set by China's Alibaba in 2014.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around 4.17 million retail investors had subscribed to 1.19 billion shares by 12 p.m. on Thursday, injecting 6.13 billion riyals above the amount needed for full coverage, Samba said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Subscription will continue until midnight on Thursday and final results will be announced on Friday, it said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The IPO is the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to diversify the Saudi economy away from its reliance on oil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Aramco is the crown jewel of the economy and the world's most profitable company.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It is relying on local and regional demand to pull off the deal, after cancelling marketing roadshows outside the Gulf region due to a lack of interest from foreign institutional investors.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sources told Reuters this week that the sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Kuwait plan to invest.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Saudis have been eager to buy shares, with many seeking to invest on behalf of their dependents to increase the number of shares they can buy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has encouraged rich Saudis to invest, with many viewing it as an opportunity to show their patriotism after a September attack on Aramco facilities that struck at the heart of the kingdom's energy industry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Washington and Riyadh blamed regional rival Iran for the attacks, which temporarily cut more than 5% of global oil supply. Tehran denied any involvement.</p>