Riyadh, Nov 17 (IANS): Saudi Arabia on Sunday placed a preliminary valuation on state oil company Aramco of between $1.6 trillion and $1.7 trillion.

The company has published an updated prospectus for its initial public offering (IPO), seeking more than $25 billion for the sale of 1.5 per cent of its shares, the BBC reported.

That would make it the world's biggest IPO, coming from the world's most profitable company

It is short of the $2 trillion valuation that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was reportedly keen to achieve.

"The base offer size will be 1.5% of the company's outstanding shares," the state-owned energy giant said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it set the price range at 30-32 Saudi riyals per share ($8-$8.5).

Individual retail investors, as well as big institutions, will have a chance to buy shares.

Aramco was initially expected to sell some 5 per cent of its shares on two exchanges, with a first listing of 2 per cent on the Kingdom's stock exchange or Tadawul bourse, and then another 3 per cent on an overseas exchange.

The firm added that there were now no current plans for an international sale.

The Crown Prince is seeking to sell the shares to raise billions of dollars to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil by investing in non-energy industries, the BBC said.

In its prospectus released last week, the company lists a variety of investment risks ranging from terrorist attacks to geopolitical tensions in a region dominated by Saudi-Iran rivalry.

The 600-page prospectus also includes the government's control over oil output as another potential risk.

After the flotation, Aramco will not list any more shares for six months.

The sale of the company, first mooted four years ago, has been overshadowed by delays and criticism of corporate transparency at Saudi Arabia's crown jewel.

Aramco last year posted $111 billion in net profit. In the first nine months of this year, its net profit dropped 18 per cent to $68 billion.