Aramco banking on wealthy Saudis for IPO; banks easing lending regulations

The IPO once was promoted as the strongest sign of economic change in Saudi Arabia

Two years ago, when the initial public offering of Saudi oil giant Aramco held the imagination of foreign investors, President Donald Trump felt compelled to publicly lobby for the share sale to happen in America.

“Would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New York Stock Exchange,” Trump tweeted in November 2017.

Today Saudi Aramco isn’t just shunning New York — and other international exchanges — as a listing venue, but has decided it won’t even market the IPO to American, Canadian, European or Japanese investors. Instead, Aramco plans to rely heavily on ultra-wealthy Saudis,