Saudi Aramco is pushing for a top credit rating ahead of its first international bond sale, but Saudi Arabia’s sluggish economy may curb the state-owned oil firm’s ambitions.
Aramco intends to issue its first U.S. dollar-denominated bonds, expected to be at least $10 billion, in the second quarter to help finance the acquisition of a stake in SABIC, the world’s fourth-largest petrochemicals maker.
Chief Executive Amin Nasser said last week that Aramco was talking to credit rating agencies ahead of its debut on the international capital markets, which comes after it last year pulled what would have been the biggest ever stock flotation.
Credit ratings allow investors to compare and assess the credit quality of bond issuers and their debt securities and are important in determining how much borrowers have to pay.
