Aramco says to sell 1.5% in IPO worth at least $24 billion

Saudi Aramco said Sunday it would sell 1.5 per cent of the company in a blockbuster IPO worth at least $24 billion which values it at up to $1.71 trillion.

"The base offer size will be 1.5 per cent of the company's outstanding shares," the state-owned energy giant said in a statement that set the price range at 30-32 Saudi riyals per share ($8-8.5).

The offering is scaled down from original plans which had aimed for a $2.0 trillion valuation, but it could still rival the world's biggest listing so far, the $25 billion float of Chinese retail giant Alibaba in 2014.