China is offering to buy a 5% stake in Aramco

Chinese state-owned oil companies PetroChina and Sinopec are offering to buyup to 5% of Saudi Aramco directly, Reuters reports in an exclusive. The companies have been corresponding with Aramco over the past weeks to express interest in a direct sale of a stake to a consortium made up of both companies, which will include China’s sovereign wealth fund, industry sources said. The move could give Saudi Arabia the flexibility to consider various options for its plan to float shares in Aramco. Reports had emerged earlier in the week that Saudi Arabia was considering delaying the international tranche of its IPO of Aramco until at least 2019.

In other international IPO news, Chinese video streaming platform Baidu has selected Bank of America, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs to manage its USD 1 bn IPO, according to Reuters.