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Saudi Arabia has sold $11.2bn of shares in national oil company Saudi Aramco at a price towards the low end of its expectations, suggesting investors remain cautious about its future prospects.
The sale raises new funds for the government, which ran a budget deficit of $3.3bn in the first quarter of the year as it struggled to meet the spending demands of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to transform the economy.
The government placed nearly 1.55bn shares, or 0.64 per cent of the company, at SR27.25 ($7.27) apiece, a 6 per cent discount to the closing price of SR29 on the day before the deal was announced.
It had initially set a range of SR26.7 to SR29 for the sale.