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After three years of delays and uncertainties, Saudi Arabia's crown jewel, Aramco, finally received regulatory approval on Sunday for its scheduled listing on Dec. 11 in the Saudi听stock exchange Tadawul, potentially the world's biggest听initial public offering (IPO).

Saudi Aramco's听IPO听prospectus, which will include financial statements, will be released on Nov. 10, while pricing Aramco shares will begin on Nov. 17, and the final share price for the IPO will be determined on Dec. 4.听

"Over the last three years, we were responsible for one in every eight barrels of crude oil produced globally," Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in a statement

"And our proved liquids reserves, at the end of 2018, were five-times larger than the combined proved liquid reserves of the Five Major IOCs [international oil companies]," he added.

As part of his 2030 Vision plan, Saudi听Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aims to raise $100听billion听through听the听public听offering of 5% of Aramco shares, which then would make the company's market value听at听$2 trillion.听

Most analysts, however, find听this听target too optimistic, and estimate that Aramco's market valuation will be around $1.5 trillion on Dec. 11.

Yet, this estimate听will听still surpass the market capitalizations of American technology giants such as Apple, which stood at $1.14 trillion as of Monday, Microsoft at $1.1 trillion, Google's parent company Alphabet at $878 billion, and the biggest U.S. energy firm ExxonMobil at $294 billion.听

The Saudi crown jewel听had听an average of 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil equivalent in the first half of 2019, including 10 million bpd of crude oil听with听blended condensate.听

-Benefits

For Aramco's IPO, U.S.-based global investment banking giants such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been hired to lead the process.听

Initially, only 1%-2% of Aramco shares plan to be offered听on the听Tadawul on Dec. 11, which also aims to听attract foreign investors and capital to the Saudi stock exchange.听

While bin Salman urged wealthy locals to buy Aramco shares,听regulatory benefits for shareholders are available to听make听the company's shares attractive.听

From Dec. 11, the first date of listing and trading, if Saudi retailers hold Aramco shares听without selling for 180 days, they will receive one bonus share for every 10 shares听they own up to a maximum of 100 bonus shares per person.听

The tax rate on Aramco's downstream business will be lowered to听20% from 50%, and the company will not pay royalties on condensate production for 10 years starting from 2023.

- Risks and worries

Aramco is expected to make other IPOs听around the world to float 3%-4% of its shares in the stock exchanges听of Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and New York in the next couple of years; however, there are听concerns听and some risks.

Due to Brexit, the London Stock Exchange is regarded as an uncertain market. In addition, U.S. Congress' decision in 2016听to听allow American victims and their families to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for Sept. 11 attacks听complicates the floating of shares on the听New York Stock Exchange.

Investors are also worried that Saudi Aramco听will听not provide enough transparency on how much crude oil is left in the kingdom's reserves, and are skeptical听over听the close ties between the royal family and Aramco's executives.听

In addition, the drone attacks on two of Saudi Aramco facilities on Sept. 14 that caused a production cut of 5.7 million bpd,听equal to around 6% of global oil output, have raised some eyebrows about the security of the company's infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia spent $68 billion for defense in 2018, ranking third in terms of expenditure听after the U.S. and China. However, when taking into account听the GDP of countries, the kingdom is rated as having the largest ratio of defense expenditure to GDP.听

If听investors'听demands听are not听in keeping with expectations听for Aramco's IPO on Dec. 11,听it听could hurt further floating in foreign stock markets as well.听

Bin Salman wants the IPO to be successful for his Vision 2030 plan, as he听aims to use earnings from the shares sale to invest in other sectors to wean off the Saudi economy's overdependence on oil exports and revenues.听