STATE-backed Saudi Global Ports has picked banks including Goldman Sachs Group and HSBC Holdings to help arrange a planned Riyadh initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
The port operator owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Singapore’s PSA International could be listed as early as next year, according to the people, who declined to be named discussing confidential information. The deal could raise up to US$1 billion, the people said.
No final decisions have been made on the timing and size of the offering. Representatives for Saudi Global Ports, PIF, PSA, Goldman and HSBC declined to comment.
Bloomberg News previously reported that the port operator was among the companies owned by the PIF that was being considered for an IPO. PSA is owned by Singapore’s state investor Temasek Holdings
The PIF is the main entity tasked with delivering Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s multitrillion-US dollar Vision 2030 plan, which envisages substantial investments into the kingdom’s transports and logistics industry, among others.
The nearly US$1 trillion wealth fund is lining up stake sales in portfolio companies – including medical procurement firm Nupco – to finance the economy’s diversification away from oil. This year, the PIF sold part of its holdings in a mobile-phone operator for about US$1 billion, while the Saudi government raised about US$12.4 billion from a stake sale in oil major Aramco.
Saudi Global Ports was formed in 2012 and operates container terminals in King Abdulaziz Port on the country’s east coast, according to its website. The port is the largest container terminal on the Persian Gulf. It also manages Riyadh Dry Port. BLOOMBERG
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