Chalk one up for MbS

The Aramco IPO may fall short of his talismanic figure, but an anticipated result of the largest ever public offering is a rare win for the prince

The timing of the upcoming Saudi Aramco IPO looks peculiar in some ways, with Brent at $60/bl rather than $80/bl+, rising climate change activism and the Abqaiq attack exposing the vulnerability of Saudi infrastructure to armed drone and cruise missile attacks by non-state actors. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is desperate for a victory after numerous foreign policy and public relations setbacks since becoming de facto ruler of the kingdom.  To his credit, MbS appears to have put together a formula that could yet achieve the largest IPO in history, even if his much touted $2trn valuation for Aramco—twice the market worth of Microsoft, currently the world’s most valuable listed c