Hong Kong leader John Lee says talks with Saudi Arabia on investment promotion deal to begin soon, reveals plans to try to lure oil giant Aramco to city
- City leader John Lee announces that Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia will soon launch talks on an agreement to enhance mutual investment flows
- Lee says he will also meet top executives of oil giant Saudi Aramco during visit to Riyadh to try to encourage firm and subsidiaries to come to Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s leader has said he will encourage Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco and its subsidiaries to invest and list in the city during his visit to the kingdom, while announcing the two regions will soon launch talks on a deal to enhance mutual investment flows.
Confirming a Post report, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Sunday revealed after arriving in Saudi capital Riyadh that he would meet top executives of the state-owned oil company during the first part of his weeklong trip to the Middle East. Lee said he would highlight what Hong Kong had to offer as an international financial centre, as well as an asset and risk management hub.
“With our pool of professionals and free flow of capital, Hong Kong has been a popular destination for sovereign funds and companies [for listings],” he said.
“Saudi Aramco’s businesses are very diversified with its different subsidiaries. I will try my best to encourage them to come to Hong Kong for participation, including listing in the city.”
The oil producer, one of the world’s most valuable companies, had previously considered an overseas listing, but ultimately decided to list domestically on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019. It now has a market capitalisation of around US$2 trillion, making it one of the world’s largest listed companies.
Aramco has three domestically listed subsidiaries – Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef), Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) and Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical (PetroRabigh). Luberef was the most recently listed, having completed its initial public offering in December with the sale of a 30 per cent stake.
Lee was welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Badr AlBadr, deputy minister of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment, Hamad Aljebreen, consul-general of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong, and Yin Lijun, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy in the country.
