UK Prime Minister Theresa May is in Saudi Arabia alongside the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, in the hope of securing the £1.6 trillion Aramco IPO.
Prime Minster May and LSE boss Xavier Rolet have been meeting with Saudi Arabian ministers over the course of this week, in a bid to secure the prospective listing of the international component of Saudi oil company Aramco.
Having been valued at just under $2 trillion, the listing would constitute the largest IPO of all time, and thus various cities have also been in contention for the listing. These have included New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Toronto, yet New York and London have been shortlisted as the strongest contenders.
Should the London listing be secured, the government is subsequently planning to sell off 5 percent of its shares in the lucrative company, which would thus be a major coup for the UK in the midst of Brexit negotiations.
Officials at Downing Street commented that the prime minister had set out “the sort of depth of expertise that there is in London and the UK in terms of financial services, and also the supporting ecosystem – accountancy, legal and also the depth of investment opportunities that there are in the UK”.
Alongside this, May and Rolet met with Yasir al-Rumayyan, the director of The Saudi Public Investment Fund with the aim of discussing potential future investments into the UK. The focus of the talks is said to have been upon funding scientific developments, education and infrastructure, which would prove inline with May’s own prioritisation of a renewed industrial strategy for post-Brexit industry.
The Aramco IPO is part of wider strategic plan for Saudi Arabia, named Vision2030. The objective is to diversify the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil and gas – both sectors that have been volatile as of late.
Nevertheless, the two-day visit to Saudi Arabia has been widely criticized by Human Rights activists over concerns over that the Prime Minister’s lack of condemnation of Saudi Arabia’s dubious record on human rights. It is estimated thus far, that its continuous bombing campaign in Yemen has claimed the lives of some 10,000 civilians.
In comments to the BBC, The Prime Minister has defended the UK’s ties with Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the importance of engagement and nurturing a relationship as the key to advancement, as opposed to being relegated to the peripheries.
Whilst Theresa May admitted that she remained “concerned about the humanitarian situation” she highlighted the importance of continued diplomacy, stating:
“So rather than just standing on the sidelines and sniping, it’s important to engage, to talk to people, to talk about our interests and to raise, yes, difficult issues when we feel it’s necessary to do so.”
Elsewhere in UK politics, Theresa May suggested to that freedom of movement for between the UK and Europe may in fact be extended as Brexit negotiations play-out. Read more about the developments here.