Saudi Aramco surges on second day of listing

RIYADH — Saudi Aramco's market value soared above $2 trillion on Thursday as its share price surged again on its second day of trading.

Aramco shares jumped another 9.7 percent to SR38.60 riyals ($10.3) on Thursday morning, following a 10-percent rise the previous day.

Jump in share price boosted the company's valuation to $2.06 trillion and pushed the Saudi Stock Exchange's (Tadawul) capitalization up to $2.56 trillion, making it the seventh largest bourse in the world ahead of the Canadian, German and Indian markets.

The company began trading on the Tadawul on Wednesday following its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) which raised $25.6 billion. Aramco’s share price came to market fixed at SR32 ($8.53), but rose immediately after listing to SR35.2 ($9.39), the maximum gain permitted by a 10 percent fluctuation limit on the stock. It stayed at SR35.2 throughout the day.

The company’s new valuation hits the $2 trillion target set by authorities, following Aramco’s IPO in which the company was priced at $1.7 trillion. The new valuation is in line with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s original 2016 announcement of a partial sale of Aramco when he stated that the company’s true value is $2 trillion, according to a report in English Al-Arabiya. — Agencies