Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman claimed that there is a case for companies expected to generate a large amount of liquidity to consider a dual-listing, according to CNBC.
State-owned oil major Saudi Aramco is likely to launch its initial public offering (IPO) later in 2018. Speculation has been rife about where the firm would list its shares with New York a strong contender, along with London and possibly Hong Kong. Last month fears were expressed that solely floating on the local Tadawul exchange could create instability as investors could sell off other stocks to buy into Aramco.
Speaking to CNBC, Friedman said a company looking at the prospect of dual-listing across different time zones would usually be able to benefit from “liquidity pools” as people wake up in different parts of the world.
In response to the possibility of the oil giant listing on the Nasdaq, Friedman said, “Companies want to be part of the future, they don’t necessarily want to be part of the past… We are extremely proud of all the companies that choose to come to Nasdaq but we don’t comment on any specific issuer.”
