CAIRO, July 26 (Reuters) – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Tuesday that the NEOM business zone is likely to be publicly listed in 2024, al-Ekhbariya television reported.
Construction has begun on NEOM, a business zone in Tabuk province that aims to diversify the economy of the world’s top oil exporter.
“NEOM will add one trillion riyals ($266 billion) to the market value of Saudi stocks. At least 1.2 trillion initially and the total will increase after the project is completed to exceed 5 trillion,” the crown prince said. who is the de facto ruler.
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The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is the lead investor in NEOM, a 26,500 sq km (10,230 sq mi) high-tech development on the Red Sea with several sites, including an industrial and logistics zone, slated for completion in 2025.
He added in comments to reporters that all ventures in which the sovereign wealth fund is an investor will be listed on the stock exchange.
Prince Mohammed said the government will raise 500 billion riyals of capital in 2027 and tap the market for an additional 200 billion-300 billion riyals for NEOM.
“We aim to make Arabia one of the three largest stock markets on the planet,” the crown prince said.
($1 = 3.7574 rials)
(Story redacted to delete repeated paragraph)
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Reporting by Lilian Wagdy and Enas AlAshray; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
