February 22, 2024 [Nasdaq]- Saudi Aramco 2222.SE is likely to issue a bond this year and will prioritise longer tenures of up to 50 years, Chief Financial Officer Ziad Al-Murshed said on Monday.

The planned issuance is part of a strategy to optimise the company’s capital structure, Al-Murshed told an audience at the Saudi Capital Markets Forum in Riyadh.

Aramco last tapped global debt markets in 2021, when it raised $6 billion from the sale of a three-tranche sukuk, or Islamic bond.

Asked about reports of a planned follow-on share sale by Aramco, whose biggest shareholder is the Saudi government, Al-Murshed said he could not comment as it was not the company’s “decision as to the sale of existing government shares”.

Saudi Arabia is poised to sell more shares of energy giant Aramco, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month, which could boost the country’s funding and its aim to shift the economy away from oil.

The share sale could raise about $20 billion, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Saudi Aramco has not confirmed the figure.

Aramco completed the world’s largest initial public offering in late 2019, raising $25.6 billion and later selling more shares to raise the total to $29.4 billion.

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