Saudi PIF head says Aramco will soon have more institutional shareholders

State oil giant Saudi Aramco will soon have more shareholders from institutions, the head of the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday. Yasser al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), who is also the chairman of Aramco's board of directors, said that the separation of Aramco from the energy ministry was to prevent conflict of interest.

He was speaking at a panel at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. Sources told Reuters earlier on Tuesday that Aramco aims to announce the start of its initial public offering (IPO) on Nov. 3, after delaying the deal earlier this month to give advisers time to secure cornerstone investors.

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