Saudi Arabia and the United States formally require major banks to participate

On August 19, 2019, two people familiar with the matter said that Saudi Arabia and Ami had formally asked major banks to submit proposals on their potential role in their initial public offering (IPO) plan.

Saudi Arabia's first public offering (IPO) is expected to raise $100 billion, which is the core measure of Saudi Arabia's economic transformation, aiming to attract foreign investment and diversify from oil.

Two people familiar with the matter said that Saudi Arabia and Ami had made a request for acquisition offers to major banks a few days ago. Saudi Arabia and the United States declined to comment.

In June, Crown Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia said that the Saudi government was still fully committed to the IPO, which is expected to take place between 2020 and early 2021, Reuters quoted sources as saying that Salman's statement triggered a series of contacts with international investment banks and hoped to participate in it.

One of the sources said that the IPO process might formalize the roles of some banks involved in previous transactions. Prior to the suspension of the IPO process, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and HSBC were selected as the main players in announcing the world's largest IPO plan for the first time in 2016.

Sources said at the time that Saudi Amy also hired small investment banks Moelis& Co and Evercore as independent consultants for its IPO.