DUBAI: Saudi Arabia put a preliminary valuation on its state-owned oil giant Aramco of between US$1.6 trillion and US$1.71 trillion, short of the US$2 trillion target set by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016.

Aramco is seeking as much as US$25.6bil by selling a 1.5% stake. The company would raise US$24bil if the deal prices at the lower end – just shy of the US$25bil raised by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd – currently the world’s largest IPO. With one third of the deal reserved for saudi retail investors, Aramco will rely heavily on the local market.