Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday to support a listing of oil giant Aramco’s…
TOKYO —
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday to support a listing of oil giant Aramco’s shares in Tokyo, as financial centers in Asia and elsewhere step up efforts to win the coveted $100 billion listing.
Abe made the request for support on the Aramco listing to the Saudi monarch, who responded by saying the kingdom would look into the request because he wants Japanese investors to buy Aramco shares, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami told reporters.
The two leaders met on Monday, the second day of the king’s visit to Japan, part of a month-long Asian tour.
Separately, the governments of Japan and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement that Aramco and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) are considering setting up a joint group to study a Japan listing for the Saudi oil giant.
Saudi authorities plan to list up to 5% of the world’s largest oil producer on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and also one or more international markets. Besides Tokyo, markets in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto, are vying for what could be the world’s largest IPO, potentially raising as much as $100 billion.
