“This is going to be the most transparent national oil company listing of all time,” Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, told.

“We view Saudi as a core growth market with huge potential for global investment banks,” said Tamim Jabr, Deutsche Bank’s head of corporate and investment-banking coverage in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Aramco’s IPO is part of a transformation plan, envisaged by the powerbroker deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, which seeks broad-based privatisation to boost employment and diversify the kingdom away from oil. But there is scepticism about whether the country is capable of such an overhaul when its people have grown accustomed to the state providing cradle-to-grave services.

The IPO proposal is consistent with the broader direction of economic reform in the kingdom, including state asset sales and market deregulation, Aramco said. Bringing in investors would also strengthen the company’s focus on long-term growth and the prudent management of its reserves, according to the statement.