Aramco IPO to shake up world stocks; $1.5-trn valuation twice that of Apple

Foreigners hold less than 5% of shares traded in Riyadh, the financial capital for the Mideast's largest economy.

Money managers in West Asia are confident the sale of government-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co this year will shake up the global stock market with a record initial public offering that gives the world’s biggest company a valuation of about $1.5 trillion.

“People focus on Aramco as being the key thing,” said Salman Bajwa, chief executive officer of Dubai-based Emirates NBD Asset Management Ltd., which has $4.8 billion of assets. “In our eyes, it is just one of the several major changes taking place. We have landmark reforms going in the social, economic and markets space. The Aramco IPO will be