Oil and Gas giant, Saudi Aramco has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company, as oil prices rise and tech stocks fall. ayokinews.com reports
Based on the price of its shares at market closing on Wednesday, the Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas corporation (Saudi Aramco), which is described as the world’s largest oil producer, was valued at $2.42 trillion.
Meanwhile, Apple’s stock has dropped in value over the last month, and was valued at $2.37 trillion at the close of formal trading.
Saudi Aramco announced a 124% increase in net profit for the previous year, only hours after Yemeni militants assaulted its facilities, inflicting a “temporary” decrease in output.
As global economy began recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, “Aramco’s net income grew by 124% to $110.0 billion in 2021, compared to $49.0 billion in 2020,” the company reported.
Economic Rebound
Following Russia’s military action in Ukraine and ensuing sanctions against Moscow, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is one of the world’s top petroleum exporters, has been under pressure to increase output.
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Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, further warned that the company’s future remained uncertain owing to “geopolitical factors.”
“We continue to make progress on increasing our crude oil production capacity, executing our gas expansion program and increasing our liquids to chemicals capacity,” Nasser said.
Speaking on the 2021 results, he admitted that “economic conditions have improved significantly”.
Last year, after a robust bounce, oil demand increased and prices recovered from their 2020 lows.
Analysts are of the opinion that Inflation might lower consumption, reduce oil demand, while investors concerns about corporate expenses, interest rate hikes, and supply chain issues could continue to drive down tech stocks.
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