Saudi oil big Aramco’s shares rise after inventory sale set to boost $11.2 billion

Shares of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco rose on Sunday following a stock sale that’s set to raise the state oil company around $11.2 billion.

Shares were trading around 28.25 Saudi riyals ($7.53) on the Tadāwul Saudi stock exchange at 11:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET), above the stock sale offer price of 27.25 Saudi riyals. Pricing was at the lower end of the initial 26.70-29 Saudi-riyal range.

There appears to have been no lack of demand for the secondary offering, which was announced on May 30. Citing sources, Reuters reported that demand for the offering topped $65 billion, and Aramco placed over half of the sale with foreign investors. CNBC was unable to verify the reporting.

It comes as Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with ambitious plans to diversify its economy away from oil under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 program.

However, the plan — which includes a raft of “gigaprojects” —has a hefty price tag, with its crown jewel, the futuristic city of Neom, expected to cost around $500 billion alone.

Meanwhile, oil remains volatile, with prices falling for the third week as an uncertain demand outlook continues to weigh and investors push back expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.