In a bold financial manoeuvre that underscores its global economic clout, Saudi Arabia raised a total of $12.35 billion from selling more shares in Aramco, after increasing the offering in the world's most valuable oil company.

Aramco also recently made headlines with a significant $6 billion bond issuance.

The state-owned oil giant’s adeptness in tapping into international capital markets not only reflects its robust financial health but also its strategic foresight in leveraging global funds, said experts.

The government last month sold a 0.64 per cent stake, or about 1.545 billion shares, in Aramco at 27.25 riyals ($7.27) a share. Another 154.5 million shares were placed via Merrill Lynch, which was acting as a stabilisation manager on the deal.

The success of the share sale and additional proceeds will help further fuel Saudi Arabia's ambitions to invest in new industries and wean its economy away from oil under its Vision 2030 plan.

The Kingdom raised an additional $1 billion after exercising a so-called greenshoe option, according to the document, which allows banks to place more stock when there is demand from investors.

Pursuant to the final allocation of the fully marketed offering of 1.545 billion shares, in which the majority of the shares constituting the institutional tranche of the offering was allocated to investors located outside of the kingdom, the public shareholders of Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) comprises: International institutional investors (approximately 0.73 per cent of issued shares); domestic institutional investors (approximately 0.89 per cent of issued shares); and retail investors (approximately 0.76 per cent of issued shares). Other shareholdings, including the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, comprise approximately 97.62 per cent of issued shares, Aramco said.

In another funding development, Aramco completed a bond issuance of $6 billion in July. The issuance comprised three tranches of USD-denominated senior unsecured notes under Aramco’s Global Medium Term Note Program (GMTN).

The tranches included:

• $2 billion senior notes maturing in 2034 with a coupon rate of 5.250 per cent;

• $2 billion senior notes maturing in 2054 with a coupon rate of 5.750 per cent; and

• $2 billion senior notes maturing in 2064 with a coupon rate of 5.875 per cent.

The transaction was priced on July 10, 2024, and the notes are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The offering was more than six times oversubscribed, based on the initial targeted size of $5 billion. The transaction received strong demand from a diverse base of investment-grade focused institutional investors.

All three tranches were favourably priced with a negative new issue premium, reflecting Aramco’s strong credit profile.

Ziad Al-Murshed, Aramco Executive Vice-President of Finance & CFO, said: "We are pleased with the strong interest and level of engagement from investors globally, both existing and new. Our order book exceeded $33 billion at its peak, reflecting Aramco’s exceptional financial resilience and fortress balance sheet. Achieving a negative issue premium across all tranches is a testament to our unique credit proposition. We have consistently demonstrated our financial discipline, while delivering on shareholder value and business growth, and we aim to maintain a strong investment-grade credit rating across business cycles."