$500 bn Saudi mega-city to be listed alongside Aramco, says Crown Prince
The 26,500-square km
business and industrial zone, named NEOM, will extend into Jordan and Egypt
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NEWS : The $500 billion
mega-city planned by Saudi
Arabia will be floated on financial markets alongside oil giant Saudi
Aramco as part of the kingdom's drive to diversify away from oil, the crown
prince told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.
The 26,500-square km (10,230-square mile) business and
industrial zone, named NEOM, will extend into Jordan and Egypt. It was unveiled
on Tuesday at a three-day international investment conference.
The surprise announcement is the latest - and most
extraordinary - in a slate of privatisation programmes led by the floating of
oil giant Saudi Aramco. The sales are designed to boost the Saudi economy and
create jobs for millions of young people.
"The first capitalist city in the world ... this is the
unique thing that will be revolutionary," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
said.
"Without a doubt, at the end of the day NEOM will be
floated in the markets. The first zone floated in the public markets. It's as
if you float the city of New York."
Prince Mohammed also said the Saudi Aramco IPO was on track
for next year, dismissing reports of delays, adding it could be valued at more
than $2 trillion.
The 32-year-old spoke on the sidelines of the Future
Investment Initiative conference, which has attracted nearly 4,000 delegates
from around the world to Riyadh this week.
Switching between English and Arabic, sometimes in the same
sentence, the prince seemed most excited discussing his plans for the new city.
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