Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for March 18.
DUBAI — State oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday its 2021 net profit more than doubled to $110 billion, a boon to the Middle East’s largest economy as it seeks to use its hefty profits for investment opportunities domestically and abroad.
The world’s largest oil exporter is benefiting from rapidly rising oil prices and said it raised its spending target this year as demand surges and the impacts from the pandemic recede. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged to an average of $70.86 a barrel last year after falling to an average of $41.96 a year earlier. It settled Friday at $107.93 a barrel, down 4.2% for the week. Early this month, oil at times traded above $130 a barrel.
SAUDI ARABIA CONSIDERS ACCEPTING YUAN INSTEAD OF DOLLARS FOR CHINESE OIL SALES
Aramco’s income jumped 124% in 2021 from $49 billion a year earlier, due to higher crude oil prices, stronger refining and chemicals margins and the consolidation of the full-year result of its chemicals business, known as Sabic, the company said. It is the highest net income Aramco has posted since it started trading its shares on the domestic stock exchange.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday its 2021 net profit more than doubled to $110 billion, a boon to the Middle East’s largest economy as it seeks to use its hefty profits for investment opportunities domestically and abroad. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File / Associated Press)
Aramco shares jumped earlier in the day to 43.85 Saudi riyals a share, valuing the company at $2.34 trillion.
The Saudi government, with a stake of more than 94% in Aramco, has sought to monetize the country’s massive oil assets and use the proceeds to invest in industries outside of oil as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to restructure the economy by 2030.
To help meet that goal, Prince Mohammed has tasked the Public Investment Fund to invest in companies and industries untethered to hydrocarbons. The government also transferred the $29.4 billion it raised from Aramco’s initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019 to the PIF to deploy.
SAUDI ARABIA TRANSFERS ARAMCO SHARES WORTH $80 BILLION TO WEALTH FUND
Last month, the Saudi government said it transferred Aramco shares worth about $80 billion to the PIF as part of efforts to diversify the kingdom’s hydrocarbon-dependent economy.
The fund has used the cash it has received or raised in the past few years to invest in a diverse set of businesses such as electric-vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors Inc., Citigroup Inc. and the Premier League soccer club Newcastle United.
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