Saudi Aramco raises USD 25.6 bn in initial stock offering: Sources

Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco launched its initial stock offering on Thursday, pricing at the high end of the target range and raising USD 25.6 billion, two sources told AFP.

Aramco shares will sell on the Riyadh stock exchange at a starting price of 32 riyals, putting the value of the company at USD 1.7 trillion, the sources said, making it the biggest company ever.

That sum raised by the oil giant surpasses the USD 25 billion raised by the Chinese online trading group Alibaba in 2014 when it entered Wall Street.