Saudi Aramco is considering the sale of a stake to a Chinese investor as plans for its highly-anticipated international public offering are pushed beyond its 2018 target, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. The initial public offering is expected to be the world’s largest stock sale, and is a key component of the Saudi government’s economic reform program which aims to diversify the desert kingdom away from its reliance on oil exports. A private placement of shares in the state oil company to a Chinese investor is being evaluated as a precursor to the international IPO, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information was not public. They declined to name the […]