PM Modi in Riyadh: Saudi Aramco Looking to Invest in India

Saudi Aramco is the world’s leading oil-producing company.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented a memento, during his visit to the L&T residential complex, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 2 April 2016. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Saudi Aramco, the world’s leading oil-producing company with around 10 million barrels per day output, is looking at India as its number one target for investment. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Saudi Aramco head, Khalid Al Falih, during their meeting in Riyadh.

The Dhahran-based company, which owns a stake in a refinery in China’s Fujian province along with Exxon Mobil Corp and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, was reported to be planning to establish a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund by offloading a stake of less than 5 percent in the company.

The $2 trillion fund, estimated to be more than double Norway’s wealth fund, is reported to be used for investments in strategic financial and industrial assets abroad.

Saudi Arabia has been badly hit by a plunge in oil prices – from $114 a barrel in June 2014 to currently around $38 a barrel – over the last few years, which has pummeled its economy heavily dependent on oil.