DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Aramco says it will sell its shares at 32 riyals ($8.53) each, laying the groundwork for a $25.6 billion IPO, the biggest ever.

The figure released Thursday means Aramco would be valued at $1.7 trillion, more than both Microsoft and Apple.

The record holder for the biggest IPO is Chinese conglomerate and e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which raised $25 billion in its first few days of trading in 2014. In comparison, Facebook raised $16 billion in its 2012 IPO.

Aramco is selling a 1.5% stake in the company, or what is 3 billion shares. The company is selling 0.5% to individual investors, who are Saudi citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia, and 1% to institutional investors.

© 2019 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved., source Canadian Press DataFile