Saudi Aramco starts trading after record $25.6 billion IPO

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco is listed and started trading on the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange on Wednesday for the first time after a mammoth $25.6 billion initial public offering that set the record as the biggest ever in history.

The state-owned company had announced a sale of 1.5% of its shares at 32 Saudi riyals a share, or what is $8.53.

At pre-trading auction earlier in the morning, Saudi Aramco’s shares reached 35.2 riyals, or $9.39 a share, according to Saudi state TV. That’s an increase of 10%, hitting the regulatory cap on daily increases or decreases for the stock. That pushes the company’s value up to $1.88 trillion.

At that price, Aramco is world’s most valuable listed company. That’s more than the top five oil companies — Exxon Mobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and BP — combined.