Saudi Aramco lines up banks, eyes local listing this year

DUBAI, Sept 9 (Reuters): Saudi Aramco is expected to give lead roles to JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and National Commercial Bank for its planned initial public offering (IPO), a source familiar with the transaction said.

It will also likely add Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Samba Financial Bank to the list of banks managing the transaction, a first phase of which could take place locally before the end of this year, said the same source and two other sources familiar with the matter. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday the kingdom was aiming for the Aramco IPO "as soon as possible", speaking on the issue for the first time since replacing Khalid al-Falih at the ministry.

Aramco is preparing to sell up to a 5 per cent stake by 2020-2021, in what could be the world's biggest IPO. It is still meeting banks pitching for roles on the deal, and is expected to appoint the advisers in the coming days, two of the sources said.