Saudi Aramco IPO: final destination, size still unclear

Riyadh

THE financiers and corporate chieftains gathered for Saudi Arabia's 'Davos in the Desert' heard the same message again and again. From the crown prince down, Saudi leaders wanted no room for doubt: the initial public offering of oil giant Aramco is "on track" for 2018.

But beneath the disciplined message put forward in Riyadh lies a more uncertain reality. The 2018 deadline looks tight and the final shape of the deal - exactly where it happens, how big it is and who gets to take part - is no clearer than it was a week ago.

There's a lot at stake in Saudi Arabia and beyond. Potentially the biggest equity sale in history, the IPO is the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious reform programme and intended to seed a US$2 trillion sovereign wealth fund to carry the Middle East'…