Is Saudi Arabia’s $100B foreign investment drive starting to yield results?

Al-Monitor Readers

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor

July 2, 2024

Saudi Arabia is tapping a familiar well amid a growing hunt for cash to fuel its sweeping economic overhaul: State-oil giant Aramco sold nearly $12 billion worth of shares in June 2024, delivering a long-awaited follow-up to its historic 2019 initial public offering (IPO) that raked in roughly $30 billion. Crucially, the kingdom is touting that foreign investors snapped up the majority of shares this time — unlike its IPO, which had to rely on domestic demand. This could signal a breakthrough for broader efforts to attract outside capital needed to help fund Riyadh’s Vision 2030 economic transformation agenda, even as the kingdom still faces an uphill battle to secure elusive foreign investment.