£2trillion float hope

SAUDI Arabia’s £2trillion oil firm will not join the FTSE 100 index if it lists its shares on the UK stock market.

Officials are deciding where to float, but want to sell just 5pc of Aramco to outside investors. This would bend FTSE rules that require a firm to sell at least a quarter of shares to get a premium listing. Aramco is thought to be willing to forgo a place on the index if it chooses London to avoid a spat with investors such as Royal London Asset Management, whose corporate governance boss, Ashley Hamilton Claxton, said a 5pc listing ‘flies in the face of what is acceptable’.