An initial public offering of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco was supposed to be the central plank of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin-Salman’s (MBS) economic reform platform. The stock flotation was originally expected to take place this year. It was to raise as much as $100 billion in new capital, making it the largest IPO ever. But the listing has since been delayed indefinitely, suggesting a behind-the-scenes power struggle between the ascendant MBS and powerful vested interests within the Kingdom’s bureaucracy.

When will the Saudi Aramco IPO take place? At this point it’s anyone’s guess.

Background

Reuters is reporting that is was none other than King Salman who quashed his son’s ambitious IPO plan. According to one source, King Salman consulted widely in the private and public sector during Ramadan, and ultimately decided that an IPO was not in the Kingdom’s interests.