Saudi Arabia

Cox: Aramco is an ESG investor’s worst nightmare

7 Nov 2019

The Saudi oil giant’s business model is predicated on humans continuing to spew CO2 into the atmosphere. Its governance makes WeWork look benign. Its monarchy is overly tolerant of human rights abuses and beheadings. Fund managers with a conscience should boycott the deal.

Aramco’s intrepid investors are hedged in two ways

4 Nov 2019

Buying into the Saudi oil giant’s IPO means owning a tiny part of a state entity, with no control. Yet its pledge to pay a chunky $75 bln dividend for five years means punters are really preferred shareholders. A large retail offer could also limit Riyadh’s scope for rogue moves.

Saudi Arabia adds World Bank halo to FDI horns

24 Oct 2019

The kingdom is becoming a better place to do business, the global lender says. But both short and long-term data show it’s a long way from attracting the flows of foreign capital needed to make its Vision 2030 plan fly. That requires stability and wider reform. Saudi lacks both.

Aramco’s latest IPO delay is a triple fail

18 Oct 2019

It’s embarrassing enough that the Saudi oil giant has again postponed its float. The hitch also messes up the kingdom’s efforts to show its best side at an upcoming annual finance junket. And it undermines Saudi’s already-shaky attempts to attract more foreign investment.

Send the A-Team to Saudi’s “Davos in the Desert”

11 Oct 2019

Financiers are heading to Riyadh for the kingdom’s annual money bash. Given it’s only a year since Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi agents, they’re trotting out various rationales for attending. Weakest of them all is to send junior people: just put the CEO on a plane.

Angola’s answer to Aramco has similarly tricky IPO

9 Oct 2019

Like Saudi Arabia, the secretive African nation wants to float its state oil firm. With a possible $50 billion valuation, Sonangol is no minnow but years of delays suggest a 2022 listing deadline could slip. As with Riyadh, the long-term threat to oil gives good reason to hurry.

Ecuador exit an irksome speck in OPEC’s eye

2 Oct 2019

Saudi Arabia may shrug off the latest departure from the oil-producing group over which it presides. Ecuador has other priorities that make it expedient to detach. But the net effect is bad for OPEC, because it’s a reminder that the value of membership is dwindling.

Viewsroom: Not your mother’s oil shock

19 Sep 2019

Saudi Arabia is quickly repairing the damage drones inflicted on its oil industry. But the fallout has implications for everything from security to U.S. shale drillers to climate change-driven alternative energy. Plus: Why are AB InBev and ESR restarting Hong Kong listing plans?

Saudi Aramco is back, and a little less valuable

17 Sep 2019

The oil giant thinks its supplies will have fully recovered from drone attacks by the end of the month. That’s good for Aramco’s credibility, and also for a balanced global market. Yet investors now have a new risk to price in, and oil prices are more likely to remain subdued.

Oil market may help shale, not vice versa

16 Sep 2019

Producers of U.S. oil would struggle to ride to the rescue after attacks on Saudi oil fields put a question mark over the security of future supply. Even so, sustained high prices would be a happy outcome for companies that have a habit of digging themselves into a cash hole.

First oil cut isn’t the deepest for world economy

16 Sep 2019

Crude prices jumped almost 10% after weekend attacks on Saudi oil facilities took out over 5% of global supply. Though the spike is bad for already slowing global growth, reserves can make up for the shortfall. Escalating threats of Middle Eastern conflict would do more damage.

Drones detonate Saudi Aramco’s renewed IPO hopes

16 Sep 2019

Air strikes by Houthi rebels knocked out half the oil giant’s output. The drop should be temporary, and Saudi and OPEC peers need to cut production anyway to gee up crude prices amid weaker demand. Still, it’s another reason for investors to mind the risks of an Aramco listing.

Some Aramco IPO banks look more equal than others

12 Sep 2019

The Saudi oil giant has picked nine banks as global coordinators for its revived listing. They all get bragging rights. Yet despite the implied equality, they won't all do the same job. Banks that led the first stab at the IPO, like JPMorgan, will still probably call the shots.

Saudi’s new oil tsar makes a bad reshuffle worse

9 Sep 2019

Khalid al-Falih’s abrupt removal as energy minister follows the appointment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ally as chairman of oil juggernaut Aramco. The king and MbS call all the shots. But having a royal as the new oil supremo undercuts any gains from the new structure.

New Aramco chair bears small plus and bigger minus

3 Sep 2019

The Saudi oil giant has appointed the boss of its sovereign wealth fund to head its board. Potential IPO investors might appreciate Aramco being distanced from the energy ministry. They may not be so keen that the new appointee looks even closer to the kingdom’s crown prince.

Listing Aramco in Tokyo has logic on its side

29 Aug 2019

In its lengthy quest to decide where and when it will list its shares, the Saudi oil giant may be leaning towards Japan. Tokyo’s reliance on Riyadh for oil supplies has always made it a valid choice. With other international bourses out of the picture, that may be reason enough.

Viewsroom: WeWork unfurls the red flags

15 Aug 2019

The shared-office provider’s long-awaited IPO filing is packed with pointless life-affirming tropes. But it also details a host of conflicts of interest and other risks that should send investors running. Plus: India’s powerhouse Reliance is building a war chest for dominance.

Aramco’s valuation dreams become quasi-reality

12 Aug 2019

Put the Saudi oil giant’s latest dividend on Exxon’s forecast yield, and its equity nears Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s desired $2 trillion valuation. Yet Aramco’s first-half payout was unusually fat. A more realistic approach would put a lower price tag on the delayed IPO.

Saudi and healthcare tech each get shot in the arm

5 Aug 2019

The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund is injecting $200 mln into healthcare app Babylon. After being passed over by SoftBank, the startup gets fresh impetus and a $2 bln valuation. Saudi gets welcome proof that its poor human rights record won’t stop companies taking its money.

SoftBank’s new $108 bln vision is broader, fuzzier

26 Jul 2019

Vision Fund 2 so far lacks endorsement from prior investors Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. It has plenty of heft, though, and less Saudi money might relieve wary investees. Focus is an issue: targeting anything “tech-enabled” gives Masayoshi Son a very long spending leash.