The Saudi plan to use their state-run oil giant, Aramco, as a piggy bank panned out fabulously for the Kingdom on Tuesday, with international investor demand topping $100 billion in Aramco’s first-ever foray into international debt markets. According to various media citing sources close to the transaction, based on demand–which can sometimes be inflated by investors–the bond sale will raise at least $10 billion, and possibly $12 billion. And from a purely investment standpoint, financial analysts seem to think that hitting the debt market makes more sense for Aramco than an initial public offering, which has been in the works for some time and much-delayed over issues of transparency and valuation. The main question now is whether Aramco even needs to go public, or whether the unusual acquisition of a nearly 70-percent stake in Saudi Arabia’s Sabic petrochemicals giant means it’s sidelined IPO plans altogether. The IPO was announced […]