Apple, whose CEO is Tim Cook, was replaced by Aramco, within the fist few moments the latter was on the stock market (Picture: Getty)
Apple, whose CEO is Tim Cook, was replaced by Aramco, within the fist few moments the latter was on the stock market (Picture: Getty)

Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco has overtaken Apple as the most valuable listed company in the world.

Owned by the Saudi government, the company’s value soared by 10% within the first few moments of it being placed on the stock market, knocking Apple off the top spot.

Making a dramatic debut, the 10% rise held until the closing and pushed the value of the company to £1.43 trillion.

Aramco’s valuation is more than the other top oil companies – Exxon Mobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP – combined.

The government has sold a 1.5% stake in the company, pricing its shares before trading at 32 Saudi riyals, or what is £6.49.

At a pre-trading auction earlier in the morning, bids for Aramco had already reached the 10% limit on stock price fluctuation allowed by Tadawul, the Saudi Stock Exchange.

That pushed the price of shares in opening moments to 35.2 riyals, or £7.14 a share, where it held until closing.

epa08062574 A handout photo made available by Saudi Aramco shows President and CEO of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser (L) ringing the bell during a ceremony marking the debut of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11 December 2019. Aramco was officially listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on 11 December, after the successful completion of the initial public offering, as shares opened at 32 Saudi Riyals. Saudi Aramco has raised a record-breaking 25.6 billion US dollar IPO on 05 December. It exceeds the 2014 IPO of Alibaba that raised 25 billion USD. EPA/ARAMCO HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
President and CEO of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser (Left) ringing the bell during a ceremony marking the debut of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Picture: Aramco)

An attack in September on Aramco’s main processing facility, which Iran is alleged to be behind, was seen as a setback, but the company remains a lucrative investment to many.

However, Aramco has suffered from geopolitical uncertainty, after the Saudi Crown prince Mohammad bin Salman’s controversial policies such as the war in Yemen and his alleged involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, spooking many investors.

epa08062550 A handout photo made available by Saudi Aramco shows Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan (C) and former finance minister Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf (L) attending a ceremony marking the debut of Saudi Aramco's initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11 December 2019. Aramco was officially listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) on 11 December, after the successful completion of the initial public offering, as shares opened at 32 Saudi Riyals. Saudi Aramco has raised a record-breaking 25.6 billion US dollar IPO on 05 December. It exceeds the 2014 IPO of Alibaba that raised 25 billion USD. EPA/ARAMCO HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan, centre, and former finance minister Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, left, attending a ceremony marking the debut of Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) (Picture: ARAMCO)

The Saudi government decided to sell 0.5% of the company’s shares locally to individual retail investors – most of whom are Saudi nationals – and 1% to institutional investors, most of which are Saudi and Gulf-based funds.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to use the money raised from the sale of a sliver of the kingdom’s crown jewel, to diversify the country’s economy and fund major national projects that create jobs for millions of young Saudis entering the workforce.

At a celebration at the Fairmont hotel in Riyadh, Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, described the sale as ‘a proud and historic moment for Saudi Aramco and our majority shareholder, the kingdom’.

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