The announcement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency comes
as the oil firm is valued at just under $2 trillion and as oil trades above $90
a barrel — its highest level since 2014.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the assertive son of
King Salman, made the decision to transfer the stock, the state media report
said. It will go to the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth
fund, which has been Prince Mohammed's vehicle to invest in everything from
Uber to British soccer team Newcastle United. The fund also is part of the
prince's Neom project along the Red Sea coast.
“His Highness added that the transfer of these shares is
part of the kingdom’s long-term strategy aimed at supporting the restructuring
of the national economy,” the report said. That will include creating
private-sector jobs in the kingdom, it added
Saudi Arabia has reaped the benefits of a spike in oil
prices after the coronavirus pandemic crashed prices at one point into negative
territory, but it also sees the growing worldwide concern over climate change
being fueled by burning fossil fuels. Prince Mohammed's plans hope to see that
oil wealth pay to create jobs for the kingdom's youth to pivot away from oil
over time.
The Public Investment Fund also has invested in the electric
car manufacturer Lucid Motors Inc. of Newark, California.
The fund did not immediately acknowledge what its plans for
the stock would be and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service last week said the fund's assets had
grown to $412 billion in 2020, up from $152 billion in 2015.
The kingdom remains the largest shareholder in the firm with
some 94% of the company. The Saudi Arabian Oil Co. long has served as both the
main economic engine in the kingdom and the main source of funds for its ruling
Al Saud royal family.
Saudi Arabia offered a sliver of shares of the oil firm on
Riyadh's Tadawul stock market in 2019. That listing made Aramco one of the
world's most-valued companies alongside Apple and Microsoft.
Aramco stock closed slightly down Sunday to 37.05 Saudi
riyals, or $9.87, a share. -AP