Aramco board seeks Chinese investors

Saudi Aramco’s board will meet in China in May for the first time in seven years, industry sources said, as the state- owned energy company seeks Chinese and Asian investors for its giant share offering.

The board of directors will gather in Shanghai on May 10 to discuss business plans, investments and preparations to sell up to 5 percent of Aramco in 2018, the sources said. An annual report of the company’s activities for the previous year is usually issued after the board meeting.

The board, which gathers twice a year, often meets abroad but only once before had a meeting in China, in 2010.

Aramco has appointed international banks with access to Chinese investors to advise on the IPO. The issue of Aramco’s IPO and a potential role for Chinese in- vestors was discussed last month during a visit to Beijing by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, sources said.

The IPO could generate up to $ 100 billion and give Aramco an overall valuation of $ 2 trillion, the biggest ever.

“Chinese participation in Aramco’s IPO would be very logical and strategic,” said Sadad al- Husseini, an energy analyst and former Aramco executive.

Saudi officials said that Chinese companies are interested in investing in the Aramco IPO as the Chinese government seeks to secure crude supplies from the world’s biggest oil exporter. “There is a serious push from Aramco for Chinese investors to become cornerstone investors in the IPO,” an industry source said.