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The plans of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to sell a stake in Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, are threatened with combustion after the Houthi strike in Yemen, which has resulted in an increase in The company's oil companies, weaken the company's physical valuation and minimize the risks of investing in its shares. Investor decision.
Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that fires were reported in two factories belonging to Aramco, in the east of the kingdom, because of drones targeting the control of both fires, while the Houthis had claimed the attack with the help of 10 drones.
The Houthi group has launched attacks on oil facilities owned by the Saudi oil giant in recent months, putting the resources of Saudi wealth at the center of the target.
The two fires yesterday, on two factories in Abqaiq province (east) and the migration of Khurais (follows the province of Al-Ahsa to the east of the kingdom and about 150 kilometers from the capital Riyadh). Abqaiq is home to the largest oil refinery in the world, while Khurais includes the Khurais field, the largest oil project in the world, with an estimated 1.2 million barrels of Arabian light oil per day, according to Anatolia. Turkish.
Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations continue. On August 17, the Houthis announced a qualitative operation, targeting a field and oil refinery in Saudi Arabia near the border with the United Arab Emirates, with the aid of 10 drones.
In May, the Houthis targeted two oil pipeline stations in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia confirmed the halt of exports due to damage.
The losses are no longer limited to the closure of oil deposits and pipelines, but the market value of Aramco, which should be placed on the local and international financial markets, is in danger of collapsing. As much as this value is mainly threatened by the drop in oil prices on the world market, this strikes bin Salman's vision on privatization Share of the company and reap tens of billions of dollars behind.
"The increased risk associated with Aramco is largely inferred from its valuation and investor interest," said Ahmed Ibrahim, financial market analyst specializing in the energy sector of one of the largest investment banks regional. .
"Unfortunately, Aramco's risks are increasing with the continued targeting of the Houthis," Ibrahim told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed.
Aramco announced its first-half business figure last month, noting that its net profit for the first half of 2019 had fallen to 46.9 billion USD, compared with 53.0 billion USD for the same period last year. last year.
A report from Reuters on August 8 indicates that the Saudi Crown Prince insists that the company be valued at $ 2 trillion, although some bankers and insiders say the kingdom should reduce the target to $ 1.5 trillion. dollars
Saudi Arabia aims to raise $ 100 billion through the IPO of 5% of the capital of the company, including 2% in the local market, about $ 40 billion.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, bin Salman has asked wealthy families in Saudi Arabia to be the "pillar of investing" in a stake in Aramco, to boost IPO demand. Last month, Aramco officially asked major banks to propose possible roles in its planned initial public offering.
The desire to present Aramco comes after having stumbled over the past two years. The IPO of Aramco had been proposed for the first time in 2016 as a central project in bin Salman's vision for 2030. The goal was to include it in the second half of the year. 2018, but plans were delayed several times, especially after the assassination of the writer and Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his country's consulate in Istanbul.
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