Saudi Aramco Stock Up 1.6% For Third Consecutive Day Of Growth Since IPO

Shares of Saudi Aramco on Sunday grew by 1.6% to 37.4 Saudi riyal ($9.97), the third consecutive day of growth since the company's initial public offering (IPO) last week. Aramco's IPO on Wednesday — it listed 1.5% of the company's shares — was the world's largest, with the Saudi state-owned oil firm initially valued at $1.7 trillion.

Shares briefly hit $2 trillion on Thursday, a priority for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. The stock is listed on Saudi Arabia's Tadawul exchange, which is open from Sunday to Thursday.

The IPO is a major aspect of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program, a serious of economic reforms which aim to reduce the country's reliance on oil. Prince Salman said that the program aims to turn the country into a "global investment powerhouse." He also said that he wants to transform Saudi Aramco "from an oil-producing company into a global industrial conglomerate."

Saudi Aramco is the world's most profitable company.

Ayham Kamel, the head of the Middle East and Africa practice at the Eurasia Group, said that Saudi Arabia may need to sell more of the company to diversify the country's economy as part of the Vision 2030 goals.

“It’s a success on paper. They delivered on a complicated IPO, the largest in the world,” Kamel told CNBC last week. “But the key risk facing Mohammed bin Salman is that a small IPO does not really move the needle on his diversification program, even if readjusted as part of a new Vision 2030. He needs to sell more of the company and begin to attract foreign investors.”