Markets Luberef falls nearly 7% below IPO price in market debut By Reuters December 29, 2022 Luberef/Twitter Luberef reported a first half net profit of SAR900 million from SAR740.1 million a year earlier Shares in Saudi Aramco’s base oil subsidiary Luberef fell as much as 6.6 percent below its listing price in its Riyadh market debut on Wednesday. Formally known as Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company, Luberef raised SAR4.95 billion ($1.32 billion) earlier this month through the sale of 30 percent of the company to investors in an initial public offering which was priced at the top of the range. Luberef’s share price traded as low as SAR92.5 at the open on the Saudi Tadawul exchange, compared with its IPO price of SAR99. State-led IPO programmes in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have helped equity capital markets in the oil-rich Gulf, in sharp contrast to the United States and Europe, where global banks have been trimming headcount in a dealmaking drought.
