Aramco eyes two-stage IPO, favours Tokyo for international listing: Report

Current Affairs

Saudi oil giant Aramco is considering a two-stage initial public offering (IPO) with a domestic debut and a subsequent international listing possibly in Tokyo, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Aramco has said it plans to float around five per cent of the state-owned company in 2020 or 2021 in what could potentially be the world's biggest stock sale.The oil giant is now considering a plan to raise as much as $50 billion in a domestic listing, the Journal said citing unnamed sources.
It added that the world's biggest energy firm favours Tokyo as a possible venue for the second phase of the proposed plan.If confirmed, that would be a setback for London, New York and Hong Kong, which have all vied for a slice of the much-touted IPO.
Political uncertainty in Britain over its plan to exit the European Union and public protests in Hong Kong had diminished their prospects, the Journal cited Saudi officials and advisors as saying.
Aramco did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
The planned IPO forms the cornerstone of a reform programme envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the Saudi economy off its reliance on oil.
It aims to raise up to $100 billion based on a $2 trillion valuation of the company, but investors have long debated whether Aramco is really worth that much.

 Failure to reach a $2 trillion valuation as desired by Saudi rulers is widely considered the reason the IPO -- earlier scheduled for 2018 -- has been delayed....Read More

US-Iran tensions, Opec's indication of continuing cuts lead to oil surge

International News

Oil rose to multi-week highs on Monday after Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) indicated it will likely maintain production cuts that have helped support prices this year, while tensions continued to escalate in the Middle East.

Brent crude was up by 96 cents, or 1.3%, at $73.17 a barrel by 0227 GMT, having earlier touched $73.40, the highest since April 26.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 82 cents, 1.3%, higher at $63.58 a barrel. The US benchmark reached $63.81 earlier, the highest since May 1.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday there was consensus among the Opec and allied oil producers to drive down crude inventories "gently" but he would remain responsive to the needs of a "fragile market".

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei earlier told reporters that producers were capable of filling any market gap and that relaxing supply cuts was not "the right decision".
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump threatened Tehran on Sunday, tweeting that a conflict would be the "official end" of Iran, while Saudi Arabia said it was ready to respond with "all strength" and that it was up to Iran to avoid war.

The rhetoric follows last week's attacks on Saudi oil assets and the firing of a rocket on Sunday into Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone" that exploded near the US embassy.

 "Al-Falih and the UAE both put paid to suggestions of increasing production over the weekend and then President Trump essentially telling Iran to bring it on, was a perfect short-term storm for oil prices," Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro, told Reuters by email.

Trump lost $1.17 billion over 10 years on failed business deals: Report

International News
President Donald Trump, who won the presidency in part on his image as a successful business mogul, lost $1.17 billion over 10 years on failed business deals, according to tax records obtained by the New York Times.

The losses, in the 1980s and 1990s, were greater than those reported by nearly any other American taxpayer during that period, according to Internal Revenue Service data the Times said it had reviewed. In 1990 and 1991, according to the Times report, Trump’s loses of $250 million a year were more than double those of the nearest taxpayer the IRS collected information on.

Democrats in Congress have been battling for the release of the president’s more recent returns, a clash that may likely end in court. Trump sold himself to voters as a master deal maker, who could bring the same success to the country as he did to his businesses. While he never personally filed for bankruptcy, his businesses sought bankruptcy protection four times.

The Times said it did not obtain the actual tax returns, but instead received Trump’s IRS tax transcripts that included figures from his federal 1040 tax form from someone who had legal access to it. The Times said it was able to verify some of the figures by cross referencing them to other documents they had obtained.


 The losses cover Trump’s taxes from 1985 to 1994. The losses began with $46.1 million in 1985 from casinos, hotels and retail space, and grew year after year, the Times reported. The returns also show how Trump’s primary sources of income changed each year from stock market earnings -- in part from boosting stock prices by suggesting he would take over a company -- to an unexplained $52.9 million gain in interest income.Yet the income was offset each year by losses, which were so great that Trump would have been able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years.